Peeyush Maniyambath

Placard Holder in the Pass Peeyush Maniyambath

Keshav, an itinerant worker, finds himself stranded in a small town in a mountain pass, delivered there accidentally by a truck driver who was a regular there. Locals bring him to the town eatery, where he encounters Aziz, the friendly proprietor of the place. There, he finds a home and a strange calling: standing by the highway and holding a placard advertising the presence of the eatery.

Keshav befriends Kili, an inhabitant of the surrounding hills--before reappearing with his stunning bride, Chameli. He also meets a wide variety of people--White, a doctor with an ornithological slant of mind who traverses the pass regularly; his faithful driver, Babu; and Keith, a decaying long-term resident of the pass who tried unsuccessfully to live with Tina, his sister in the UK. The moodiness of the unique weather and topography of the pass remains a constant backdrop as Chameli's disillusionment with Keshav grows in the presence of other ardent admirers. Keith finds himself battling depression and alcoholism, despite White's attempts to help him; Kili too suddenly disappears. Gradually the lives of those around Keshav--those who chose the pass as their home, perhaps not as a matter of choice but more due to compulsion--begin to disintegrate.

In this novel, a migrant worker builds a new life for himself in a small mountain town, only to see it fall apart amidst love, betrayal, and sorrow.