MOTH by Melody Razak

 

The Observer newspaper has put this non-Indian first-time novelist into its Ten Debut Novelists list 2021. This is an exceptional novel by anyone's standards and for a writer not of Indian descent to write so sensitively, vividly, knowingly of the whole scar of the 1947 Partition of India, and in such a nuanced way is just terrific. Strangely the writer was a pastry chef and cafe owner before becoming a writer. How one goes from living and breathing delicious food and making people happy in the process, to writing about a dreadful time, horrific ethnic and racial violence, with the indifferent British at its heart is really quite a segue way.

Being about the Partition, it is definitely not a pretty read, the violence implied on the first page telling you that you know where this is headed. However, do not let this put you off from reading this memorable novel of a family in Delhi coming to terms with the upheavals going on around them. 

It is 1946, in Delhi, where, like many cities, towns, villages and communities in India at this time Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs have lived fairly amicably side by side for a very long time. But of course the times are a'changing, the British are leaving, and leaving an even bigger mess in its wake. Alma is a 14 year old girl, full of the silliness and romantic notions that 14 year old girls are full of. She lives with her 8 year old sister Roop, a child overflowing with character, imagination, intelligence. Their parents, Brahma and Tanisie, are teachers at the local university, where the exchange of ideas, viewpoints is prolific and vocal. They are a Brahmin caste family, at the upper point of the Hindu caste system, which tightly regulates how Hindu society operates and functions. Brahma's mother also lives with them, as does a young Muslim woman who is like a nanny to the girls. There are a couple of servants too. Their lives behind the walls of the house are peaceful, fun, orderly. 

However, sectarian violence, rising Hindu nationalism, continuing ineptness of the British, have Alma's parents very concerned for her safety and virtue. As in all wars, targeting violence at women and girls is the easiest and most demoralising way to defeat an enemy. A marriage has been arranged for Alma with a young man from Calcutta, and this is all Alma can think about. Until events take over, and her dreams are blown away. She is a headstrong young lass, deciding that she needs to get away from Delhi, to go live with an aunt in Bombay. 

Aside from the story line itself, the author has honed in on the minutiae of daily life for this family - food preparation, how they dress, their reliance on the newspapers for the news, their conversations with each other, others outside the home. This is a genteel family, how they live and are in a total contrast to the chaos and violence going on outside the walls of their home. 

I have read a review of this book by an Indian woman. She has high praise for the author, commending this non-Indian writer for her "impeccable research, the atmosphere she creates with her sense of time and the place". There is also the possibility of a happy ending too which is a relief. A rich and absorbing book.