Book Review: The Silent Witness by Anuradha

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.

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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

Book Review: Love In Chakiwara And Other Misadventures

Title: Love In Chakiwara And Other Misadventures

Author: Muhammad Khalid Akhtar

Translator: Bilal Tanweer

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Review:

If we are to believe Eliot Weinberger, “translators are the geeks of literature.” And rightly so. Though a creative enterprise, translators need to face the challenge of rendering a language resonantly in another. Mere translation of the words doesn’t suffice. In translating ‘Love in Chakiwara and Other Misadventures,’ Bilal Tanweer has proved his mettle. He has done an excellent job of translating the author’s genius. He has successfully got Akhtar’s humour over and across the language barrier. The original story, ‘Chakiwara mein Visaal’ was written by Muhammad Khalid Akhtar in 1964 and even fifty years later, his story holds a charm for the readers.  

The book is set around a small Karachi neighbourhood called Chakiwara, and the chronicler of the daily drama is Iqbal Hussain Changezi. He is a bakery owner and the collector of writers and geniuses.

Akhtar’s Chakiwara is an amalgamation of fiction and reality. It is a balanced concoction of the prosaic and the other worldly. A curious world opens up for us as we follow the author’s narrative. The narrow, labyrinthine lanes of the old quarters of Karachi with its ramshackle shops shadowed by faded and worn out signboards stir a longing in the reader for a chance visit to an era long gone. There’s more than meets the eye with regard to the characters and their ordinary lives but with extraordinary proclivities. A satirical work, this book presents to us a world as bright as a summer’s day and as dark as a moonless night.

The cover design is alluring enough to draw one’s attention towards the book, from wherein, the story takes over and does its job wonderfully. The author’s writing style supports his story very well and creates a captivating atmosphere throughout.

Buy Link:

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About the Author:

Muhammad Khalid Akhtar was born in 1920 in Bahawalpur, to a family of scholars. An engineer by training, he began writing in his early twenties. Khalid Akhtar produced numerous stories, essays and travelogues, many of which were published in the Urdu magazine Sawera. Love in Chakiwara (Chakiwara Mein Visaal), one of his best-known works, was written in 1964 and won the Adamjee Literary Award. Khalid Akhtar died in Karachi in 2002.

About the Translator:

Bilal Tanweer is the author of the novel the Scatter Here Is Too Great, which won the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize and was shortlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. He has translated works by Sa’adat Hasan Manto and novels by Ibn-e Safi. His writings have appeared in various publications, including the New York Times, the Caravan, Granta and Words Without Borders.

I'd like to thank the author 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 author in exchange for an honest review.

** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in

Book Review: Rau — The Great Love Story of Bajirao Mastani by N.S. Inamdar

Title: Rau — The Great Love Story of Bajirao Mastani by N.S. Inamdar

Author: N.S. Inamdar

Translator: Vikrant Pande

Publisher: Pan Macmillan India

Review:

If ‘Bajirao Mastani,’ the movie, was all about forbidden and failed love with two star crossed lovers acting out their well curated dialogues, N.S. Inamdar’s ‘Rau’ (the 1972 Marathi book on which Bhansali’s historical romance is loosely based) is more about how a warrior fights for his country, all the while trying to keep a different sort of a fight out of his domestic life. The grandeur of the big screen lacks in the black and white pages of the book but it’s the story itself that successfully creates a splendid treat for the book lovers.

Inamdar’s Rau is a much detailed version of the life and time of Shrimant Bajirao Peshwa. The Maratha ruler’s administration finds more focus in the book that his romance with his second wife Mastani. He is a willful and valiant soldier but at the same time he comes across as an affectionate individual. His character is flawed and there is nothing larger than life about him. Although he is quick tempered, he fights for what he believes in. He is equally passionate for his empire and the people that make up his life.

The novel also provides an insight into the Indian society during the 18th century. Credited with expanding the Maratha Empire, especially in the north, he was fabled to have never lost a single battle in his brief military career of 20 years. Allegedly, possibly the finest cavalry general ever produced by India. We see the orthodox Hindu Brahmin society of that time that did not object to the Peshwa’s having a concubine in addition to a wife but didn’t offer any acceptance to his marrying her on basis of her caste. Bajirao's brother Chimnaji Appa and their mother, Radhabai, also never accepted Mastani as one of their own. Many attempts were made to take her life, presumably by Chimnaji Appa; she survived with the help of Chhatrapati Shahu. It goes on to show the workings of the society and its narrow-mindedness.

This being a translation, not much can be gleaned about the writing style of the author. What I can say is that Vikrant Pande as a translator has done a good job. Nothing seems to have been lost in translation. The story has all the ingredients that make for a good reading experience. There is romance, history, politics, kings, and warriors. What can go wrong with these combinations? I’d recommend it to all those who enjoy historical romance.  

About the Author:    

Born in a village in Maharashtra’s Satara district, N.S. Inamdar (1923–2002) was one of India’s foremost Marathi novelists, with a writing career spanning over five decades. He is the author of sixteen historical novels and an autobiography.

About the Translator:

Vikrant Pande has translated Ranjit Desai’s Raja Ravi Varma, Milind Bokil’s Shala and N.S. Inamdar’s Shahenshah. He has worked for over twenty-five years with various multinational companies and is currently heading TeamLease Skills University at Vadodara.

Buy Link:

Amazon

* I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

** Picture courtesy: Amazon.in