BOOKS WE RECOMMEND THIS WEEK

From a novel shuttling between Malaya and pre-partition Bengal, to a definitive biography of the Mughal prince Dara Shukoh, our book picks this week, curated by Chirdeep Malhotra

FICTION

“A Flutter in the Colony” by Sandeep Ray

This novel shuttles in time and temper between the rubber plantations of Malaya and the anguish-filled years of pre-Partition Bengal, and between the Malayan Emergency and Direct Action Day. It is 1956, and the Senguptas travel from Calcutta to rural Malaya to start afresh. In their new hamlet of anonymity, the couple gradually forget past troubles and form new ties. But this second home is not entirely free and gentle – it is a complex, racially charged society, and is on the brink of independence even as communist insurgents hover on the periphery. This novel tenderly chronicles a family struggling to remain together in the twilight of Empire in Asia.



SCIENCE FICTION

“Riding With Ravan” by Ezhuth Aani

Unlike the usual science fiction that takes readers into the future, this novel takes readers back in time. An Indian family is on a holiday in Sri Lanka, and strange things begin to happen to Sunil, a Kargil veteran. Someone from a past civilization tries to contact him, and the narrative then takes the reader through the subculture of mysticism in Sri Lanka with a contemporary twist. The sub theme of love and infatuation is also interwoven into the narrative. This book amalgamates science fiction and adventure with contemporary mysticism, mythology, and romance intrigue; and takes the readers to beautiful parts of Sri Lanka and India in a ride like no other.



CONTEMPORARY FICTION

“Echoes of Gasping Souls” by Gurucharan Singh Gandhi

In this book’s storyline, four strangers are stuck in a hotel in Mumbai. There is Sitam, a Nepali speaking man from Sikkim, who works in the dusty offices of Indian bureaucracy. Kulwant Kaur is from Amritsar, and on her first solo trip at the age of 62, which is her revolt against the inescapable North-Indian patriarchy. Razia is a Malayali Muslim married to a Hindu, and the only identity that matters to her is that of a woman. Manoj is a typical Engineer-MBA, with a nauseating superiority complex. The hotel manager is Sunil Paswan, a Dalit from Bihar. All these characters hate each other, but things play out differently as they are forced to live together for almost a month, with the story changing when their hearts and minds slowly begin to open up.



NON-FICTION

“The Emperor Who Never Was: Dara Shukoh in Mughal India” by Supriya Gandhi

This book by Supriya Gandhi is the definitive biography of Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan, whose death at the hands of his younger brother Aurangzeb changed the course of South Asian history. To many in South Asia, Aurangzeb is the scholastic bigot who imposed a strict form of Islam and alienated his non-Muslim subjects. Dara, by contrast, is mythologized as a poet and mystic. This nuanced biography, with its exquisite narrative, gives readers a more complex and revealing portrait of this Mughal prince.