Anuradha Gandharva, an educated girl from Rajasthan, is set to leave for Bombay to marry a man she has not met yet. Anuradha's beauty is sublime, the humble girl sings beautifully, a gift passed to her through generations. She waves goodbye to her mother and her parting words are 'In this life, my darling, there is no mercy.' What does she mean?
Sometimes there are stories or certain parts of a book which make you feel sad. However, when it comes to this book, you know there is some kind of melancholy associated with every page/character of the book.
In Bombay, she manages to meet the love of her life, Vardhaman, who wins her heart through his charismatic story telling ability. The eligible bachelor manages to clear the test that the lady put him to and they are blissfully married. The slow romance is alluring but haunting in a way because you already feel some gloominess and are intuitive that something devastating will happen. Soon, the angelic Mohan enters their lives giving them another reason for jubilation. As expected, their happiness is short lived and her shrewd mother-in-law, Divi-Bai, bars her from entering the house ever again.
Peacocks had come to bid farewell to Anuradha when she first left Udaipur, this time no-one recognises her the demure lady. What happens to Vardhaman, the man who once won Anuradha's heart by his penchant for story telling. When she returns this time to Bombay, as she had once wished, they have a house by the sea. A house which has had its own stories of misfortune and tragedy behind it. She brings along her cousin, Nandini, a mystical girl with an abusive past who has a gift for painting people for who they are.
A famous painter, Khalil Muratta, who has quit after his wife's death but finds his muse in the young Nandini. One who came to learn art, becomes one. Another mystifying character is Libya Dass, a female who carries her porelain bath tub along with her everywhere. There is also Pallavi (with her own painful fate), in whom Anuradha finds the solace of companionship after she fails to find one in Vardhaman. Expecting for the second time, the sanguine Anuradha hopes that everything will be allright after they have another child. Shloka, does come into this world, but at what cost? Will she be able to pay-back and is the price too much? Nandini, is she able to salvage herself through her art or succumb??
The author has sketched the characters in an exquisite way and you immediately feel for them. Long after the book is over, you will remember Nandini, the girl who had the uncanny ability to walk on water and Anuradha, the woman whose songs came to her rescue. Even if you want to, you cannot forget the house by the sea which had a story of its own. My favourite character had to be Nandini, bold and audacious for the period, the way she handles even the depressing stuff in a nonchalant manner.
Brilliant metaphors, captivating writing style, mystical characters and the melancholic feel. The book keeps you hooked till the end.
Rating- 3.5/5
It would have been 4 had the cats been as mystical as the ones found in Haruki Murakami's book :D
I'm not very fond of SDS's works. He tries too hard, especially at the sex scenes. I've even had the misfortune of hearing him speak, he's so full of himself
ReplyDeleteDeflecting what you trying to say, I kind of agree. I happened to like the plot, some characters and a few metaphors. But his style did seem borrowed, and yes it shows up that he is trying. Only if he did not try so hard and was comfortable with his own style.
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