Snowfed Waters — Jane Wilson-Howarth

Snowfed Waters is a dramatic and moving story set amongst the Himalayas. It is a tale of two cultures, of false assumptions, of courage in the face of disaster and of the gradual dawning of self awareness. Sonia Swayne's life is in bits. With her self esteem at rock bottom she flees her old life to work for a charity in Nepal. Clumsily, Sonia tries to impose her own values on her unsophisticated hosts but the more she learns about their customs and their faith, the more she questions her own principles. She is particularly influenced by the spirituality and spontaneity of quiet teenage Moti. And then there is Rekraj, a sensitive young high caste Nepali man. Sonia basks in the warmth of his admiration without analysing her feelings too deeply: she simply enjoys being wanted again. There are clouds on the horizon though and there are ill omens: earth tremors. Lord Shiva is angry and Rekraj regrets his impure thoughts. The story reaches its climax when Sonia and Moti set out on a pilgrimage into the mountains. Can Sonia summon her old inner strength and revive her own self-respect?