Title: The Silent Witness
Author: Anuradha
Publisher: Jaico Publishing House
The Silent Witness by Anuradha is set among large events:
the fight between the Sammudris of Kozhikode and the Rajas of Kochi and their combined
fight against the ever growing power of the Portuguese. In this mix is thrown
the threat from the Dutch, who wanted to establish their trade centre and control
the spice market under the banner of the Dutch East Indi Company. They tried to
seize the opportunity to topple the Portuguese rule by joining hands with
Kerala Varma and Samoothiri.
Translated by Nirmala Aravind from the Malayalam novel
‘Kottakochiyum Kadalum Sakshi,’ this is a tale of loyalty, deceit, love, and
war.
The author does an excellent job delineating in detail the struggle
of the South Indian kingdoms to maintain its independence at the face of
foreign invasion. It’s interesting to note how the search for the lands of
spice changed the face of the world and how the trade in spice affected places
and people from Portugal to the native India s, who suffered under the brutal
rule of both Dutch and Portuguese.
Anuradha has also included a sweet love story in this
rivalry for power. It is the story of Veera Kerala Verma falling in love with
Unnimaya. That the two come from opposing camps makes for an even beautiful
read.
Aravind’s translation is smooth but it can’t be denied that
much of the flavour gets lost when changing tongues. The book contains some
illustrations by artist Namboodiri. These are line sketching and don’t add much
to the story telling. That said, I was fascinated by this patently but
beautifully told story.
A beautiful blend of factual and fictional narrative, The
Silent Witness is a vigorous but restrained historical survey.
Anuradha is the pen name of Radha Narayana Menon, an eminent
writer from Kochi, Kerala. She is the author of The Saga of Black Gold and has
also published two short story collections and ten novels in Malayalam.
I'd like to thank the publisher for letting me review the
book. I do hope you end up liking the book when you read it. Thank you so much
for stopping by, and happy reading!
* I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in
** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in
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