hiya there,
ahoy folks,
did you like P.S. I Love You ?it's one of my personal favorites. Today as i promised earlier i would love to talk about Jhumpa Lahiri's The Lowland.my hand shakes literally as i write half telling myself to stop for daring to write about something which is created by a master creator, Jhumpa Lahiri.The lowland speaks of love,brotherhood,passion and the tremendous journey called life.
The novel speaks of Subhash and Udayan, two brothers born and brought up in tollygunge, Calcutta,India.hailing from middle class families.the brothers, although share a deep rooted connection, but are exactly opposite in nature. udayan is more like a risk lover,pampered by his parents and elder brother subhash, he has a true revolutionary spirit. udayan wants to work for the greater good, with great ideals he lands headway into the naxalite movement. the name naxal comes from the name of the village naxalvadi in west bengal where the movement had its origin.but not before subhash and udayan had passed school with flying colours; the brothers obtaining degrees from prestigious institutions-subhash from jadavpur university and udayan from presidency college.as udayan gets more and more involved in the movement which slowly became more violent,subhash leaves for rhode island for his doctorate.the story paces up with the entry of Gauri.a student of philosophy,gauri too believes the charismatic udayan only to fall in his love.the duo marry and dream together of a better world free from exploitation and corruption.as gauri studies,udayan teaches in a local school and all seems well.but the blissful happiness was shortlived as udayan was shot dead by the police near the lowland. subhash comes back to calcutta only to realize that his parents specially his mother bijoli could no longer love him without his brother.he furthers gets to know that gauri is pregnant. inspite of much oppositions from his family,subhash falling in love with gauri,marries her and takes her back to U.S. with himself.the relationship of gauri and subhash is extremely complex and ultimately the only bond between them is udayan and gauri's daughter bela. gauri resumes her classes of philosophy in a local university and finds her solace in her studies while subhash finds his in little bela. unable to forget the undying,unflinching love for udayan, the tormented,sad gauri cannot love her daughter in a true motherly way.she deserts her child only to be never forgiven by bela.
As the story continues we see the fates of the characters like subhash,udayan,bijoli,bela and gauri.the novel is written in such a manner that it strikes us,shocks us,enlightens us as well as shows us the varied complexity of the journey of life.important historical events pertaining to calcutta, west bengal as well as of the world are woven so finely into the story that the reader gets lost in its depths.it seeks to question the very human nature,it talks of it's unpredictability.although the focus or the limelight is on the brothers family but the readers gets to see the entire world surrounding them as well as catch a glimpse of the history of that time.my friend the experience of reading the book was unparalleled. The Lowland is a poignant tale of shattered lives as well as happy lives,sacrifices,pains and lost love;a tale that promises to haunt its readers long past he turns the last page;as if the spectre of udayan watches over.it is a tale of two places, two nations, of lives torn apart mostly due to their own decisions;a tale where guilt milks the vision of life and destroys its delicate balance,of love that goes far beyond the grave and love's undying true fragrances.
this is a must read for all readers;come give yourself up to the masterful style of jhumpa lahiri,take a deep breath and dive headlong into the lowland and just forget everything.you will leave refreshed and enriched.
and don't forget your mug of hot coffee............
do tell me if you have any questions or just want to hear more about The Lowland and i will be back soon.......................
