Page 80 - EducationWorld August 2022

Books

world. And the threads of side us, a continuous chat-
these narratives have been ter without punctuation. In TOMB OF SAND (RET SAMADHI)
skilfully drawn together written form, this lan- Geetanjali Shree
to make a strong case for guage acquires a rhythm
greater empathy for the of its own with abundant RAJKAMAL PRAKASHAN
much-misunderstood Arab synonyms including words Rs.299
people. and sounds unheard that 376 pp
It’s mandatory read- fit seamlessly.
ing for all wanting to The craft of storytelling
understand the mad, mad is discussed throughout
contemporary world. the novel and there are daughter. The daughter The first Indian
DILIP THAKORE many confusing voices. brings the old woman back language translation
Even crows become narra- to life, even as the mother novel awarded the
Innovative novel tors to display knowledge literally rediscovers the Booker Prize (2022)
of saris and at other times
is notable for its
child in herself and the
to acknowledge their caring daughter, a writer sweeping imagination
HE FIRST INDIAN power to transcend bor- by profession, becomes and power of language
language translation ders dividing nations. the mother, totally giving
Tto be awarded the This playfulness within up personal freedom. Side woman with a Muslim
Booker Prize 2022 and the the story can be exhilarat- stories of a live-in rela- husband left behind during
fifth novel of Geetanjali ing or exasperating de- tionship of the daughter, Partition, whom she man-
Shree leaves the reader pending on the mood and and a friendship that the ages to meet before she is
wonderstruck with its propensity of the reader. old mother shares with downed by an army bullet.
sweeping imagination This reader found herself a eunuch — playing the An old Buddha idol from
and sheer unprecedented waiting to go back to the double role of a man and a museum in Pakistan is
and uninhibited power of narrative all day, leaving it a woman — are engaging omnipresent in the story,
language. Shree is known at times to wonder what it tales, narrated in the usual which the mother brings
for her experiments with takes to write a book like streaming manner, with with her during her escape
content and form, but this this. One is pretty sure the details veering from con- to India during Partition
new novel grips you with author also left writing it stipation and bowel habits and how she takes back
its storyline as well, which many a times and picked to food and paraphernalia with her to Pakistan. But
had not been the author’s it up to start anew, wait- of quotidian life. stories written with such
forte earlier. ing for another mood to The eunuch, Rosy bua abandon take their own
To narrate a bit of the dawn. This is a book to alias Raza tailor, is mur- course and it is not at all
first part of the story, an be read in many sittings, dered for her property and important where it reaches
80-plus mother turns back and the reader is likely to the mother again retracts in the end and whether it’s
on the world after being experience a craving to go into a shell. The upshot of credible or not.
widowed. The family keeps back to it. The details of which is her decision to Yet the uniqueness of
cajoling her to come out thoughts and emotions as travel to Pakistan to fulfil this novel is that it takes
of her isolation and the well as settings weave a Rosy’s last wish. the reader inside a seem-
narrative unfolds into the compelling magic. This novel is epic in its ingly ordinary world suf-
familiar saga of a doting The first part ends with depiction of a family with fused with myriad stories
son, a recalcitrant daugh- the aged mother coming its strained relationships: of the subtle tensions that
ter-in-law and a daughter, back to face life again and mother and son, husband are common in all relation-
who with her rebellious distributing her goods and and wife, brother and sister ships. It also highlights
lifestyle is not on speaking possessions to all in the and the two grandsons, one the desire and boldness
terms with her disapprov- neighbourhood. She also of them settled in Austra- of ordinary folk to live
ing brother. disappears one day for lia. Of course, without the life on their own terms. If
This is the first part of more than 24 hours but is rich language and imagery, only a few samples of the
the novel, but the story is found after much agony in it would have been impos- language could have been
told with thousands of fine the family and resolves to sible to write this modern given, one could really
nuances of relationships live with her daughter. Mahab harata. experience the sheer power
expressed in language The second half of The last part of the nov- of the Hindi language.
that’s minted anew. It is the narrative is a great el constitutes a somewhat ALKA SARAOGI (The
the language we speak in- love story of mother and incredulous tale of a Hindu Book R eview )

80 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2022