Additional information
| Weight | 524 g |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 230 × 155 × 29 mm |
| ISBN | 9780648407201 |
| Format | |
| Imprint | Indrani Ganguly |
| Page extent | 352 |
| Publication Year | 2019 |
| Subject | Fiction |
The Rose and The Thorn
$29.99
Indrani Ganguly
Identical twins — Mukti and Lila are close yet different! Born two and a half minutes apart, they think and act in opposite ways. Mukti longs to move beyond the complex family structures, cocooned within the Indian customs while Lila is a dreamer.
Personal tragedy, a burgeoning national movement for independence and sweeping social reforms propel both sisters into the world outside their narrow domestic walls. New relationships and a string of events challenge their loyalties while lives are uprooted as the world changes.
The sisters struggle to control their lives and loves as the sub-continent labours to give birth to a new nation. Nothing is permanent, yet everything is connected.
Set against the intriguing backdrop of India’s multifaceted society and travelling through nearly fifty years of history, the author challenges the reader to ask who is the rose and who is the thorn.
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It has been a riveting read and I could not help but feel totally swept away by the helter skelter of events in the personal lives of Mukti and Lila, the identical twins; as well as by the currents of historical and social change in India.
‘Roses are like life- they sweeten the air and our lives but they could not survive without the thorns to protect them’. I think this statement epitomises the relationship shared by the two sisters who are catapulted into an unknown world outside their protected and domesticated environment.
What really inspired and resonated with me in the book was the role of “ordinary women” highlighted by the author in helping to shape India’s modern day destiny as well as the social transformation that has come about as a result of their efforts- be it in the form of challenging oppressive norms and customs at home such as Mukti’s longing for political and social action, Lila’s publishing of her poems in the Chandpur Barta, Shanti’s protection of her sister in law Molly from the oppression of a mother in law, or liberation from the tyranny of the colonial masters, in simple things like spinning the wheel and helping with the Svavalambi shops that only sold things made in India.
References to Goddess Durga, and political and social women leaders such as Laxmi Bai, Meera Bai, Sarojini Naidu are an amazing celebration of India’s women. As Sarojini Naidu said and as quoted in the book-
“….when your hour strikes, when you need torch bearers in the
darkness to lead you, when you need standard bearers to uphold your
banner and when you die for want of faith, the womanhood of India
will be with you as the holders of your banner, and the sustainers of
your strength..”
We are lucky to have a writer and thinker of Dr Ganguly’s calibre in Brisbane, one who is equally at ease in India as she is in Australia. Her breadth of vision, her understanding of what is good and desirable and of what is not so desirable in both cultures, her social conscience and her call to action to each and every one is apparent through the wonderful characters she has portrayed and brought to life in the book.
Mrs Archana Singh, Hon Consul of India
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A great and satisfying read, this is a book you simply must read this year.
Trudy Graham, Queensland author