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Tag: fiction

Fascinating Folk Tales from ‘Cities and Canopies’

Posted on by Penguin India

Native and imported, sacred and ordinary, culinary and floral, favourites of various kings and commoners over the centuries, trees are the most visible signs of nature in cities, fundamentally shaping their identities. Trees are storehouses of the complex origins and histories of city growth, coming as they do from different parts of the world, brought in by various local and colonial rulers.

Drawing on extensive research, Cities and Canopies by Seema Mundoli and Harini Nagendra is a book on nature’s own museums.

Here are some interesting tree-related folk tales and myths from the book:

The silk cotton in folklore is termed as a ‘parrot’s despair’.

“Folk tales mention parrots eagerly pecking at the tasty looking seed pods and being disappointed to find they contain mostly inedible cotton.”

*

Trishanku, the ruler of Ayodhya is believed to be responsible for the creation of the coconut tree

“King Trishanku was seized by the desire to go to heaven alive…. But the gods, who would not accept this unusual route of approach, complained to Indra, who pushed him down. Pushed up by Vishwamitra and pushed down by Indra, the unfortunate Trishanku remained suspended for a while. Tired of holding him up with his magic powers, Vishwamitra propped him up with a long pole. The pole became the trunk of the coconut. Trishanku’s head is the fruit or the coconut.”

*

Can trees predict the future? Many believed they do

“Mythologies from Greek to English talk of oracle trees—trees that can predict the future. Alexander the Great was believed to have received a warning from a Wakwak tree of the end of his life and the destruction of his empire.”

*

The frangipani is abundant around temples and graves due to its immortality

” The tree symbolizes immortality owing to its ability to produce flowers and leaves even after being uprooted. Its flowers adorn graves throughout the year. Great power is accorded to the seed of the tree as a cure for bites from the venomous cobra. Folk beliefs claim that the tree has no pods, as the cobras destroy them out of fear.”

*

Many ancient human societies long believed that people can talk to trees.

“In ancient Persian, Chinese and Indian mythologies, there are frequent references to the Wakwak or Vagh Vagh tree, which bears fruits that look like human heads. When the fruits ripen, the trees begin to talk, say a number of beloved old fairy tales.”

*

There are a number of tales about the tamarind from different parts of India.

“One legend from Sambalpur says that there was a fight between Bhasmasura, the asura chief, and Mahadev (Shiva). Bhasmasura hid in the tamarind tree, but Mahadev opened his third eye. The magical power from his third eye shattered the leaves of the tamarind tree, making them small forever.”

Cities and Canopies is a book about both the specific and the general aspects of these gentle life-giving creatures. AVAILABLE NOW.

Why You Should Be Reading The King of Kings rather than Endlessly Discussing Game of Thrones

Posted on by Penguin India

One of the great classics of Gujarati literature, the Patan trilogy by K. M. Munshi, is finally accessible to English readers owing to Rita and Abhijit Kothari’s brilliant translation.

K.M. Munshi is one of Gujarat’s most well-known literary writers and his historical novels have contributed profoundly to the sense of past that Gujarat lives with. His magnificent conclusion to his beloved Trilogy, Rajadhiraj or The King of Kings is a panoramic epic filled with adventure and intrigue, and a timeless classic with a nuanced insight into human nature and the complex links between statecraft and violence.

A mysterious emissary arrives in the port city of Bhrigukachchh. He has been sent by King Jaysinhdev of Patan with a secret message for Kaak, the valiant chieftain of the city. The king seeks to urgently enlist Kaak’s help in conquering the kingdom of Junagadh. However, Kaak has also received crucial summons from two others: Leeladevi, the firebrand princess whose marriage to Jaysinhdev Kaak himself facilitated; and Ranakdevi, the queen of Junagadh.

Caught in a web of conflicting loyalties, Kaak must navigate a treacherous terrain of political machinations where the slightest misstep could lead to grave consequences-where even he will not emerge unscathed.

Seven reasons why you should be reading The King of Kings—

 

  1. For a glimpse of the rich, varied history of 12th century India that you probably completely skipped in school

The King of Kings takes the reader through a highly layered and complex web of Gujarat in the Chalukya era. As a result of his historical research, Munshi came to the conclusion that Gurjaradesha was a region that dates back to very ancient times. It could be said to have come into its own around 550 CE; its fall began from the conquest of Qutub-ud-din Aibak, and Alauddin Khilji’s raid in the fourteenth century spelt its end. Gurjaradesha was a rather large portion of northern India centred around modern-day Mount Abu and Bhinmal.

 

  1. For a saga as fascinating and complex Game of Thrones set in 12th century India.

Even though the trilogy is based around the rise of Siddharaj Jaysinh,, we are hooked on to the interplay of machinations and intrigues around him. From the sagacious kingmaker Munjal Mehta, to the intelligent and calculating Chief Queen of Patan—Leeladevi, everyone has their own agendas and will do anything to achieve them. After all, power, lust, and glory are universal and timeless motives.

 

  1. For its powerful portrayal and multifaceted portrayal of women.

Women are very, very present in The King of Kings, not just as idealized trophies but as decision makers every bit as calculating and as potent as the men. From the paragon of all virtues-the beautiful, brilliant pativrata—Manjari, to the equally stunning, shrewd and incisively cold warrior princess of Laat turned chief queen of Patan, Leelavati, to the austere ascetic Ranakdevi, and the intelligent dowager Minalba. Even the ordinary women who pop up –from the unabashedly sensual Premkunvar to the frivolous teenager Samrath, dispay the same attention to actually creating vibrant, realistic women.

‘No, you don’t,’ the princess struck back like an experienced warrior. ‘Tomorrow, I will wear my grandfather’s crown and go at the head of my army against yours for our last battle. I will die, but I will be immortalized. Tales of my valour will spread far and wide and I will be deified like a goddess.’ There was no tremor in her voice or glint in her eyes. There was only an indifferent calmness.

 

  1. For the astonishingly wide breadth of its romantic and sexual relationships which range from strikingly modern to classical love stories

There is the classical romance and idealized connubial bliss of Kaak and Manjari , the political alliance of Leeladevi and Siddhraj—Leeladevi wants to attract her husband deeply but is far to brilliant and incisive to play the calculating wife to soothe his ego. Meanwhile Jaysinhdev is obsessed with a woman who rejected him years ago who is now the ascetically devoted wife of his arch-rival.

 

  1. For a truly realistic look at the idea of the kingdom, beyond the confines of the court to those of its satellite villages.

 

The King of Kings explores tensions between the centrist and regional contestations of power, and the relationship between state formation and violence. One sees in this novel the contrasting views that Patan and its margins have towards each other. For instance, when Amrabhat arrives in Bhrigukachchh, he notices that the houses of Bhrigukachchh are small and its streets narrow. The temples are old and unimpressive, not like those of Patan or Modhera.

Was it possible that the unvanquished bhatraj of Laat and durgpal of Bhrigukachchh, dearest friend of Tribhuvanpal maharaj and the enemy of a person as influential as his father, lived in a place like this? He smiled derisively: Where the palatial mansions of his father in Patan, Khambhat and Karnavati, and where this humble hut!

 

  1. For the brilliant subversion of the idea of the ‘heroic ruler’ and the reminder that great kingdoms are often the result of brilliant secondary figures behind the scene.

The collective energies of the wise prime minister Munjal Mehta, the warrior and chieftain, Kaak and the poised Queen Mother, Minaldevi are mobilized in accomplishing the suzerainty of the ‘great king’ Jaysinhdev , and the novel ultimately celebrates his victories. However we are on many occasions shown Jaysinhdev in a poor light, both as a person and as a statesman. If perfect states are to be achieved with full knowledge of the imperfections of those who represent it, can they remain perfect? Or rather, is the idea of the state more powerful than the one who governs it?

 

 

  1. For its delightfully rich and detailed prose interspersed with delicate flashes of humour.

This is no dry reconstruction of historical events, Munshi brings the 12th century landscape and society of Gurjaradesh to life vividly, handling the foibles and weaknesses of both the court and small towns with a deft hand.

 

Amrabhat was restless. He had imagined himself to be

immersed in revelry and pleasures in Bhrigukachchh. Instead,

as soon as he set foot here, he lost his servant, bore insults and,

to top it all, an unknown woman stole his heart. Such a series of

calamities at this tender age!

K.M. Munshi’s magnificent conclusion to his beloved Trilogy, The King of Kings is a panoramic epic filled with adventure and intrigue, and a timeless classic with a nuanced insight into human nature and the complex links between statecraft and violence.

Heartfelt lines from ‘The Carpet Weaver’ that encapsulate the spirit of #Pride

Posted on by Penguin India

Afghanistan, 1977. Kanishka Nurzada, the son of a leading carpet seller, falls in love with his friend Maihan, with whom he shares his first kiss at the age of sixteen. Their romance must be kept secret in a nation where the death penalty is meted out to those deemed to be kuni, a derogatory term for gay men. And when war comes to Afghanistan, it brings even greater challenges-and danger-for the two lovers.

From the cultural melting pot of Kabul to the horrors of an internment camp in Pakistan, Kanishka’s arduous journey finally takes him to the USA in the desperate search for a place to call home-and the fervent hope of reuniting with his beloved Maihan. But destiny seems to have different plans in store for him.

Here are some soul-stirring lines from Nemat Sadat’s revolutionary new book, The Carpet Weaver!

“I took the bag from Faiz’s hand and pulled out a bra, rubbing the padding across my face and chest. ‘This is so nice. I love the way lace feels.’ Maihan draped the cup of the bra on my head. ‘Look how huge she was—like Marilyn Monroe!’”

∼

“Maihan grabbed a fur throw from the armoire, wrapped it around his neck, and swung his hips while lip-syncing precisely to the Hindi lyrics. When the song was over, he asked, ‘How many stars do you give me?’ ‘Five stars!’ Theatrically, I blew him five kisses. ‘I love India,’ Maihan said, putting his hands over his heart. ‘When I grow up and get married, I want to celebrate my honeymoon there.’” 

∼

“Maihan used a washcloth to buff Faiz’s lips and defined them with lipstick, then flecked his cheeks with rouge and rubbed it in. I opened a bottle and drizzled glitter on Faiz’s hair, put a gold dot on his forehead, and rubbed ambergris oil into his hands and neck. I snapped clip-on earrings onto Faiz’s ears, and when we were done, Maihan and I looked into the cheval mirror in front of us and saw Faiz transformed into a striking woman.”

∼

“In the distance to the east, a flickering lazy sun climbed slowly over the arid mountains, dwarfing our existence. Like sunflowers, Maihan looked to it and so did I, our eyes flaring, as it painted our nascent love with approving warmth. Maihan had become mine, and I his.”

∼

“I slipped my arms around him and hugged him tightly. Some of his drink spilled on my back. I was too intoxicated by his woodsy cologne to care. Maihan pulled away and gaped, and then smiled. I felt his warmth radiate into my soul. Since our voices capped over the unbearable decibel level, we funnelled our words directly into each other’s ears.”

∼

“‘I’ve dreamt about you. Only about you.’ He held his gaze then and studied my face. ‘I think you have the most beautiful almond-shaped eyes in all of Asia.’”

The Carpet Weaver is a sweeping tale of a young gay man’s struggle to come of age and find love in the face of brutal persecution.

Meet Krishna: An Indian Feminist Icon of the Early 20th Century

Posted on by Penguin India

Krishna Sobti is a magical being. From her experimental prose to her legendary parties to her unique sense of style to her male alter ego, the writer ‘Hashmat’, everything about her is deeply considered and infused with her special warmth.

Krishna Sobti tells stories in her writing, and in conversation, but she has an equal if not greater interest in language and style. Her preferred forms have been the novella and the essay, and this is perhaps because she has sought to boil sentences, phrases and entire narratives into the smallest number of words possible.

A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There is a feminist partition novel. Rape and abduction play a huge role in most literary works about the Partition, and Krishna Sobti has not shied away from the topic either in this book or in her other writings. Writing as a young woman, in the more conventional style of her early years, Sobti is already experimenting with brevity and focusing on single words.

Read on to know why translator Daisy Rockwell considers Krishna Sobti as a feminist icon of her time, especially through her protagonist Krishna

Sobti does not like being considered a ‘woman author’, in the sense that adding in the word ‘woman’ somehow makes one a woman more and an author less. Indeed she regularly wrote essays from the perspective of Hashmat, her male alter-ego, as noted above—a method, perhaps, for shedding her lady-author identity.

~

Krishna, the protagonist, faces sexism and prejudice against refugees through what we would now call constant micro-aggressions. Yet these make her indignant. She never sees herself as weak, and it is that sense of strength and self-confidence, and not being a woman-hyphen-anything, which keeps her focused and protected throughout the narrative.

~

When the young protagonist becomes the governess of Tej Singh, the child Maharaja of Sirohi, she finds herself standing at the site of multiple fissures and contested territories. She is a migrant (from Delhi) and a refugee (from Lahore and Gujrat), newly arrived at a border in the process of being drawn (between Rajasthan and Gujarat), charged with the education of a maharaja whose legitimacy is being contested. Everything is in a state of flux, and no one knows quite where they stand. She is treated as an outsider because she is not from Sirohi, but also because she is a woman who has left home for employment, and additionally because she is viewed as a refugee. The Governess is made of stern stuff, however, and she stands her ground as long as she can, even as she copes with a sense of what has been lost with Partition.

~

The self-reliance of the protagonist mirrors that of the new nation. The flux of the historical moment, including the displacement of Partition, emboldens her to set out and find her own way. Though she is haunted by what has been lost, the sense of mourning gives way to a feeling of lightness—to a nimbleness and lack of encumbrance with ancestral baggage.

~

The protagonist Krishna goes through many trials and tribulations yet is not a victim of Partition; she has her own feminist self-image pretty much reflective of the author’s own identity as a strong feminist.

Part novel, part memoir, part feminist anthem, A Gujarat Here, A Gujarat There is not only a powerful tale of Partition loss and dislocation but also charts the odyssey of a spirited young woman determined to build a new identity for herself on her own terms.

 

Feel the Nostalgia of Autumn in Pico Iyer’s Words

Posted on by Penguin India

Returning to his long-time home in Japan after a sudden death, Pico Iyer picks up the steadying patterns of his everyday rites: going to the post office, watching the maples begin to blaze, engaging in furious games of ping-pong every evening. As he does so, he starts to unfold a meditation on changelessness that anyone can relate to: parents age, children scatter, and he and his wife turn to whatever can sustain them as everything falls away.

After his first year in Japan, almost thirty years ago, Iyer gave us a springtime romance for the ages, The Lady and the Monk; now, half a lifetime later, he shows us a more seasoned place-and observer-looking for what lasts in a life that feels ever more fragile.

Here are some lovely quotes from his new book, Autumn Light

Get a copy of Autumn Light for more!

Get to Know the Wordsmith Behind ‘A Tale of Wonder’, A.N.D. Haksar!

Posted on by Penguin India

Aditya Narayan Dhairyasheel Haksar is a well-known translator of Sanskrit classics. For many years a career diplomat, he served at the United Nations and as the Indian high commissioner and ambassador in various countries. His translations from Sanskrit include those of several great works by ancient poets like Bhasa and Kalidasa, Bhartrihari and Dandin, Kshemendra and Kalyana Malla, all published as Penguin Classics. He has also compiled A Treasury of Sanskrit Poetry, which was recently translated into Arabic in the UAE.

His recent translated work A Tale of Wonder talks about Yusuf and Zuleikha’s biblical love story that travels across regions-ultimately reaching medieval India where it is transformed by Shaivite overtones. The result is an exquisite epic love poem of love which also attests to the rich diversity of India’s cultural past.

Magnificent in its simple elegance, A Tale of Wonder is a timeless story that challenges the insidious notion that India has always been dominated by one faith only and insular to other cultural and religious influences.

Read more about his research methodology here!

What is your research process like?

There is no specific research process for my translations from Sanskrit. They began as a method for better learning that ancient language on my own. They have continued over the years for bringing its many wonderful but now less known aspects before today’s readers..

What propelled you to translate Yusuf Wa Zuleikha?

The name you have used is of a famous poem in medieval Persian. It inspired another in Sanskrit called Kathakautukam that I translated as A Tale of Wonder. I came across it while translating for Penguin another based on Arabic/Hebraic sources called Suleiman Charitra, Both are remarkable for depicting a little-noted cultural confluence in India’s great language. What led me to translate this one was its description in Sanskrit of the Founder of Islam as paigambar shiromani, or crown jewel of the prophets, to whom this tale was revealed by a divine messenger. This was the first reference to the Prophet that I have seen in Sanskrit.

How was the experience of translating Yusuf Wa Zuleikha different from your other translations?

All my translations have been from the clear and precise wording of classical Sanskrit. This one was not too different. But, done at a trying time for my health, it was a real tonic for me!

How would you see our relationship with Sanskrit in recent times?

Over the last couple of centuries, Sanskrit has tended to be seen as mainly a religious, philosophic and scriptural language. The work of eminent foreign scholars as well as its study system here have also strengthened this impression. This has overshadowed many other dimensions of its vast literature. Apart from the scientific and didactic, these also include the poetic and narrative comic and erotic, cynical and satirical, and common colloquial rather than refined. More translation is one way to present them before today’s readers, and this process has already begun.

How have various cultural and religious influences impacted traditional literature?

This is a very wide question, difficult for a brief answer, All I can say is that there is a cultural confluence reflected in many Sanskrit works that need more exposure today, as also do its other dimensions, already mentioned.

Read A.N.D. Haksar latest take on Srivara’s classic, in A Tale of Wonder

Fall In Love All Over Again with Rahul and Akriti from ‘The Secrets We Keep’

Posted on by Penguin India

Rahul an intelligence officer on a secret mission is undercover at a major’s house. In the process, he falls in love with the major’s daughter, Akriti, unknowingly putting her in danger. To protect her, Rahul decides to hide her at his parent’s house. However, estranged from his family for years he must first make amends with them.

Just when he thinks he has found a haven for Akriti, she goes missing. That’s when a research wing officer is put on the job and Rahul realizes that she is someone who seems all too familiar. Or is she really?

As Rahul comes closer to the truth, he is faced with the biggest shock of his life.

Here we introduce the readers to the dynamic characters of Rahul and Akriti:

Rahul

What does it take to become an intelligence officer, to make a person stand out from the crowd? The hero of the book ‘The Secrets We Keep’ is a fine example to answer this question. As the book is a cross intersections of the past events and present day scenario, the readers witness the life of Rahul both as an adult and as an adolescent. Throughout his teens, Rahul was a rebellious child. He forged his mother’s signature on a complaint written by his school teacher and even stole money to buy his girlfriend a gift.

He was fighting a battle between the expectation of his parents and his own reality. Unlike his elder brother Karan, he was not excelling in academics, yet was exceptionally gifted in playing sports. Thus, following the traditional Indian mindset, his parents always criticized and demeaned him. This made him realize that his parents never truly saw him for who he was, which led him to leave home. Apart from that, he was also a romantic at heart. He fell in love with Akriti, yet when she was kidnapped he was the only one who could solve the case and save her.

As an adult, he was very calm and tactical. He was known to be a risk taker. Yet, it was the mistakes of his past that came to haunt him. His instincts and presence of mind is what made him decipher a web of lies. Overall, even though he is the hero of the book, he is a very realistic character. It was because of his carelessness that Akriti was kidnapped, yet it was due to his sharp mind that she was saved and a bigger threat was unveiled and neutralized. As a hero, he was charismatic and smart, and had the courage to accept the mistakes of his past.

 

Akriti

 

Akriti, as one of the leads characters of the book, is a woman who has good reflexes and instincts. When her house was attacked, she acted quickly and instead of rushing towards danger, she hid in her closet. She was a smart woman, who was in love with an intelligence officer, Rahul. Even though Rahul’s family did not approve of their relationship she never bowed down to their wishes and tried to adjust with them. She was a headstrong woman, who believed that moulding old traditions with newer ones was important to modernize with changing times. Overall, Akriti was an emotionally strong woman, who was not afraid of adversities. She faced obstacles and never ran away from them. She was courageous, believed in the power of love and was ready to fight for it.

To explore their passionate love story, read Sudeep Nagarkar’s The Secrets We Keep

Beyond the Popular Stories: Hidden Tales about the Elusive but Much-loved God of Gods,the Mahadev

Posted on by Penguin India

A little girl asks who Shiva is and it is the beginning of a family journey through stories and incidents across the expanse of Shivbhumi.

Writing in the Harikatha style of traditional storytelling, Renuka Narayanan weaves story after story from across India takes us closer to this elusive but much-loved god of gods, the Mahadev.

The Mahadev doesn’t have straightforward, linear stories with a beginning, middle and end like Vishnu has in the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Srimad Bhagavatam. Instead, like our religion itself, Shiva has no parents, no beginnings. He always was and is. He has “incidents”, he dances in and out of a whole lot of stories.

Read on for delightful, hidden glimpses of the Mahadev behind and beyond the more popular myths!

How the famous ‘Nilakanth myth forms one of the backstories to the Mahabharata

“The vish purush or spirit of Kalakuta sprang out of Shiva weeping in shame at the outrage he had involuntarily committed by burning Shiva’s throat and in despair at the ferocity of his substance. So the Lord, who wanted nothing for imself but gave things away to others, blessed him with a boon, for it was not Kalakuta’s fault that it was so deadly It grew fierce only when fiddled with, and brought out just as so many other things are poisonous if we stir them up ourselves. ‘Lord Shiva granted the vish purush the boon that he would return to Nature by being born on earth one day as the son of Drona and would kill his father’s enemies. So the vish purush was born as Ashvatthama; and Vishnu himself, as Sri Krishna, had to fend him off. Ashvatthama’s spirit is said to still wander the earth, quietly and is called out only if and when we stir up terrible world-destroying poisons . . . like nuclear bombs, I should think.”

 How the Mahadev played with the very idea of  the creation myths

“Very long ago, Brahma the Creator was given the task of making people inhabit the three worlds, which were well connected to each other then. For Bhulok, the earth, Brahma first created four handsome young men to be the ancestors of mankind and they sat down to pray for guidance on the shore of Manasarovar. Suddenly, a great white swan swam up before them.’ ‘It was Shiva, the ultimate free soul or “supreme swan”, the Paramahamsa. The swan swam all over the lake to warn the four young men that the world was merely maya or illusion, and that the only way to escape its bonds was to refuse to become fathers. Shiva did that because he felt that it was only fair to warn them that creation was just a game for the gods.

How the tragic story of Sati became the source for the revered Shaktipeeth

 “Shiva’s fury and sorrow plunged the whole world into deep gloom. To save the situation, Vishnu repeatedly flung his discus at Sati’s body. He cut it up into fifty-one pieces that fell on earth and became high-energy points called Shakti Peeth, places of goddess-strength. The farthest one north-east is Kamakhya in Guwahati in Assam. The farthest one north-west is Hinglaj Devi in Balochistan.”

 How the sacred feminine forms the basis of all Mahadev lilas

“As Dakshinamurthi, He had retreated from the world with no thought for this maya-engulfed universe, its inhabitants or their troubles. Ambika (Shakti) became Kameshvari, love incarnate, and made him Kalyana Sundara to change Him from an ocean of knowledge (in the form of Dakshinamurthi) into an ocean of compassion(in the form of Kalyana Sundara).  Though we say She is instrumental in making Him shower blessings on this world, in reality, it is She who does it. To remain unmoving and static is His nature. All actions are Hers. Still, She made it appear that He was the one doing everything.”

How the stories about the Mahadev’s entourage become the source myths for one India’s most beautiful topographical features

“The story goes that Shiva once spent a night in the hills of Unakoti in Tripura on the way back home to Kailash,’ said the guru. ‘With him were 99,99,999 followers, one short of a crore or “Unakoti”. Wanting to get home soon, Shiva asked his followers to wake up well before dawn. However, not one was awake on time except for Lord Shiva himself. So Shiva went off on his own, leaving them behind. When they woke up and realized their mistake, they were too ashamed to move and turned to stone, deciding to stay forever at the place where they had last seen Mahadev. The rocks on the Unakoti hills are said to be the remains of that entourage.”

Read more such facts in Renuka Narayan’s Mahadev

One Story. Two Characters. Many versions.

Posted on by Penguin India

A Tale of Wonder is the translation of the little-known Sanskrit verse epic Kathakautukam, written by the poet-scholar Srivara in fifteenth-century Kashmir. The original text consists Kathakautukam of over 1300 verses, narrative and descriptive. The story of Yusuf and Zuleikha has been told and retold many times in different cultures and in different languages.

This listicle highlights some of these more well-known versions of the story:

 

 

 

A Tale of Wonder is a timeless story that challenges the insidious notion that India has always been dominated by one faith only and insular to other cultural and religious influences.

Meet the Characters of ‘House of Stars’

Posted on by Penguin India

House of Stars by Keya Ghosh, is a riveting tale. Kabir and Diya are trapped in a mall due to a terrorist take-over. As Kabir follows the most beautiful girl he has ever seen into the mall, suddenly a group of terrorists barge in. Making Kabir, Diya and the other people present at the mall their hostage, the terrorists make their demands clear. They come out with an ultimatum that until their demands are met, one hostage will die every hour.

As the situation begins to unravel in an unfavourable manner, Kabir and Diya are faced with the possibility of this being their only chance at love. However, they both have their fair share of secrets that might prove to be a hindrance to their love.

Here we tell you a little bit about the characters from the book:

Kabir

Kabir is a young boy, who comes to Mumbai with a specific aim. Burdened by a turbulent past, he has decided to forge a different path in his life which draws on amending a few mistakes that he committed earlier. Moreover, he has never gotten the chance to dig deep into the matters of love and romance, which is why he tends to be shy around girls. He is made to grapple with his affections when he comes across Diya. Taken in by her beauty and kindness, Kabir finds himself at a complete loss as to how he should be handling these feelings.

Diya

Diya is at the crossroads of breaking away from a domestic mould that confines her and debating whether it is the right thing to do. A timid girl with a domineering father, Diya has grown up in a strict household where everything that was thought to be right for her was imposed on her without any regard to what she thinks of it. Over the years she has learnt to remain silent and sacrifice the things she likes to the will of her father. As she begins her college life, she briefly encounters a hint of individual freedom, which forces her to contemplate on the things that make her happy and set her free. Coming from an influential family background, there are many limitations on Diya that weigh her down.

Aman

A lover of art and poetry, Aman is most interested in singing and writing songs. He is the lead singer of his college band and is adored by his friends. He is a gentle soul who advocates for the happiness of the people around him and consequently, helps Diya realise the true source of her happiness. Even in the face of adversities he never forgets his humane virtues and makes a conscious effort to make things pleasant for the people around him.

Mahendra Shyam Bhonsle

An old, retired school-teacher of political science, Mr. Bhonsle is a highly idealistic man. His strong belief in his ideals lead him to become disillusioned by the corruption that is widespread in the workings of the state. Although he is a patriot at heart, he dismisses the nation as a doomed country where the government and the state have fallen into ruins due to the shortcomings of social and political spheres. Resorting to alcoholism to abate his disappointment, Mr. Bhonsle becomes a bitter misanthrope.

Bhai Thakur

A power-crazed politician, Bhai Thakur actively encourages stringent patriotism in the country. He is shown to move the public with his highly polarized speeches, in order to gain the support of the community in majority. Time and again, in the novel, it is told that he has worsened the fabric of the society by giving out accusatory comments against the minorities.

Get to know more about their story in House of Stars by Keya Ghosh

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