The family narrative is woven into an exposition of Sikh history. The radicalism of the Khalistani movement, the conflict between Sikh and Hindu nationalist fanaticism, and the all-too-familiar twists of politics and politicians help the reader identify with the world and setting that the story delineates in such great detail.
The chapter dedicated to poetry has seventy-three poems that touch upon the themes of identity of Indian women, questions of society and culture, religion, mythology and folklore. Some philosophical questions expressed in poems like ‘Nature’s Message’ and ‘The Rocketand the Stars’ and questions related to nationalism in ‘The Bharat Mata’s Awakening’ speak about the myriad themes and concerns close to these women writers.
Gilchrist Gardens, Ammu’s residence in Madras, was the site for her social life and later a hub for Congress political activities. She was a founding member of the Women’s India Association (WIA) along with Annie Besant, Malathi Patwardhan and others. The WIA addressed the many ills of child marriage, Devadasi system, widow remarriage, divorce, inheritance, and advocated for female suffrage. Ammu introduced Lakshmi to politics, was a votary of the Sarada Bill and in time stood for elections and won a seat in the Madras Corporation. Ammu was vocal about her critique of caste, not sparing Jawaharlal Nehru for adopting the title ‘Pandit’.
Pranav Joshipura and Swati Vyas (Kapadia) portray the pain of Indo-Fijian communities in their essays, ‘Issue of Land and Indo-Fijian Reality’ and ‘The Displaced Migrants of Fiji’. Here, the ghosts of colonial exploitation are palpable. In these essays, land is more than soil—it is life, home, and memory, torn away under the weight of foreign rule. Their work offers a haunting reminder that colonization’s scars do not fade with time, binding generations to loss and dislocation.
Nationalism, a recurring motif in the novel, is presented as both a unifying ideology and a vehicle for violence and marginalization. Through the lived experiences of his characters, Islam interrogates how nationalist discourses justify systemic exclusion, displacement, and cultural erasure. It also reflects how even such a unifying force could not cut across social boundaries like caste.
Translating 760 pages or more of intricate detailing of human lives and the vicissitudes of Malnad natural environs that enfold these lives is no mean task. Kuvempu is first and foremost a poet, therefore he and his work have to emerge poetic, vibrant, and buoyant in another language. The immediacy with which Kuvempu engages with Malnad life and the multiple patterns that he weaves, while straddling the caste, class, gender differences of a region have to be sustained in the translation and that again is not an easy task.