
I bought this book sitting at Mumbai airport waiting for my flight back to Nairobi and Iโm so sure if I wasnโt so exhausted from partying the night before Iโd have probably finished the book by the time I landed back in Nairobi.
Mistress is a story thatโs set in Kerala, which is in South India, at a riverside resort.ย Christopher Stewart is a travel writer (not the Lonely Planet Guide type!) and he has come to Kerala to interview Koman who was once a very famous kathakali dancer. ย Kathakali is a classical Indian dance that involves drama and is also recognised easily because the charactersโ make up is very attractive and they have elaborate costumes too. The dance has detailed gestures and really well defined body movements. For me, itโs the green painted faces with the expressive eye make-up that helps me recognise the kathakali dancers.
Radha is Komanโs niece and from their first meeting, both Radha and Koman are drawn to Christopher, his cello and his thirst to know more about the past. Shyam is Radhaโs husband and very soon he gets excluded from this triangle and can only helplessly watch as he sees a passion in her he has never experienced.ย Koman can see all this unfolding before his wise, worldly eyes, while he goes on telling Chris the rather complex and complicated details of the sacrifices he has had to make for the sake of his art.
Anita Nair explains beautifully the intricacies of the dance while telling the story of Radha and Christopher with Shyam standing in the shadows watching helplessly, and Koman narrates the story of his life. The passion and desire can be felt very strongly as you turn each page.
The Mistress is an excellent read and the pace doesnโt slow down at any point to make you feel itโs dragging or getting boring.
I AM A VERY BIG FAN OF INDIAN AUTHORS LIKE SHOBA DE AND VIKRAM SETH….ESP KHUSHWANT SINGH. I LIKE THE SOUND OF THIS BOOK BUT ARE THESE SORT OF BOOKS AVAILABLE IN NAIROBI?? I WOULD LOVE TO READ THIS ONE LET ME KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND IT
KEEP IT UP KAMAL
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I got Mistress in India but I have seen it locally available too.
You might also want to read Anita Desai, Vikas Swarup, Meera Syal to name a few.
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Kamal, you should read the following books by Dr. Brian Weiss, – ” Many Lives, Many Master” & “Messages from the Masters”. It will change your life.
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Thanks for that Kamlesh. Will definitely do so.
๐
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