Book Details

Genre: Historical Fiction, Family saga, War, Social, Politics, Drama

Ages: 13+

Publisher: Viking

Price: Rs 254.50 for the ebook and Rs 399.00 for the paperback.

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Plot Synopsis

The story begins with Rajkumar, an orphan who has to fend for himself on the streets of Mandalay. Resourceful and enterprising, he manages to find a job where he happens to meet a business man, Saya John, who takes a liking to him.

Circumstances lead to an extension of Rajkumar’s stay in Madalay, during which he has two brief encounters with Dolly, one of the orphan girls who look after the princesses. Rajkumar decides to stay in Mandalay to seek his fortune, and embarks on his quest by working for Saya John.

Thus begins Rajkumar’s journey through the ups and downs of his fascinating professional life which becomes tightly intertwined with his personal life after he uses his influence as a successful business man to locate Dolly and marry her.

The story continues to reveal the saga of Rajkmar’s professional and personal life as it unfolds against the backdrop of major political upheavals in India, Burma and Malaya, while presenting a melange of perspectives on the sociopolitical realities through the eyes of his family members and friends, people of vastly differing personalities, belonging to different nations, professions and communities.

Highlights

• The evolution of personal relationships strained by the looming dangers of war and frayed by conflicting political beliefs, yet sustained by love, loyalty and firm family ties, makes this an engaging and thought provoking story that compels the reader to reexamine the intensity of their beliefs in today’s polarized world.

• The story explores the crushing effects of colonialism as it consumes one thriving civilization after another, exploiting the natural and human resources of each conquest to fuel the next, and leaves behind a trail of destruction and broken spirits that will take decades to heal.

• The struggles and coping mechanisms adopted by the characters in order to survive under an exploitative regime, simultaneously evoke feelings of contempt, revulsion and admiration.

• The story is peppered with plenty of intriguing facts about the last king of Burma, various aspects of the Indian freedom movement, and fascinating descriptions of Burma, Malaya and the large Indian communities in both places.

Through a skillful synthesis of widely different perspectives, this fictional story presents an honest approximation of a past reality.