The Illuminated

 There are two kinds of writers - the ones who spill flowery words on pages without any story to speak of, and then there is a type that writes some stories in the style you can relate to. Anindita Ghose's grand debut falls into the latter category. But then just because there is a story doesn't mean it is going to touch your heart. 

Sashi Mallick is the wife of Roby Mallick, a big-shot architect. Her son is doing good in the USA, and her daughter, a Sanskrit Scholar is studying in Mysore. All was well in Sashi's world till her husband dies suddenly of cardiac arrest.  The country is seeing itself slowly getting into the clutches of a regressive religious party, MahaLakshmi Seva Sangh, and then there is Sashi, yearning to discover herself all over. 

It would have been a really basic and boring book if it wasn't for Tara Mallick, a posh Delhi girl who chooses to study Sanskrit, of all the subjects in the world. When her father, Roby Mallick learned she has made it to an institute designed by her father, he instantly wished how he had constructed a girls ' hostel for his daughter, if he had known Tara wanted to study there. Yes, that's how privileged she was. 

She instantly falls for this controversial visiting professor called Amitabh Dhar, who she refers as AD. Now AD, more than twice her age, is an HoD in Chicago University, has written banworthy books, is rumored to have been dating Salma Hayek, and is twice divorcee. Rushdie vibe, anyone? The two start flaming fling that left Tara all broken. 

Tara sometimes reminds you of Shalini from The Farfield, except the latter was a rebel with a reason. For example, we are never told why Tara, a brat chooses to study Sanskrit at this age and era when are desperately pleading with authorities to not make it compulsory for students. Kudos to Ghose, ex Vouge editor for getting deeper into research and writing relevant Sanskrit couplets in the book to back Tara's interest. And yet you keep asking all the time, why Sanskrit. 

Ghose has taken different characters, mostly women, and tried to string them together. But there are many loose ends that make you wonder about the real purpose of the book. 

Was it about a woman who finds herself at 50 after her husband dies? Was it about a young girl who has an affair with her professor who had actually assaulted her on more than one occasion?  Was it about New India which is slowly losing her freedom to fundamentalists? Was it about all of the things mentioned? If yes, then why was it not structured that way? 

All in all, an entertaining read that doesn't leave you much to ponder about.