Böcker av Nayantara Sahgal

When the people of India rose against oppression and inequality, they wrote one of history's most inspiring stories. India, the brightest jewel in the Raj crown was also a land burdened with harsh taxes, unjust laws and innumerable restrictions. When Indians, under the leadership of the most remarkable men and women ever to be born, decided to overturn the yoke of a foreign power, their struggle was one of extraordinary bravery, truthfulness and fortitude. The story of India's freedom movement is a unique tale of how the ordinar people of a country defeated the mightiest Empire in the world through the forces of satyagraha and ahimsa. In this masterful account, Nayantara Sahgal describes the twists and turns that led to this, the lives of the leaders, revolutionaries and masses, the horrors of oppression and the triumphs of the Indians as they finally made their tryst with destiny. A lucid telling by one of the country's finest writers, this account encompasses every important detail of the freedom struggle and will inform and inspire all young readers.

DescriptionWhen they first met in 2002 at a literary festival, Nayantara Sahgal was a veteranof more than twenty books; her debut work, the memoir Prison and ChocolateCake, was published in 1954. Kiran Nagarkar had published his first novel, SaatSakkam Trechalis, in Marathi in 1974, and his first work in English, Ravan andEddie, twenty years later. Sparks didn''t fly at that first encounter. It was only in2014, when Nagarkar wrote to Sahgal about Mistaken Identity and other books ofhers that he had read, that she invited him to lunch at her home in Dehradun-and thus began a correspondence that lasted until Nagarkar''s death in 2019.As they discussed each other''s work, their almost daily exchange of emails grewinto a sharing of concerns: Nagarkar''s chronic ill-health, Sahgal''s grief on the deathof her 23-year-old grandson, Zum, and through it all, their distress at the rise ofviolent majoritarianism and the loss of democratic ideals in their beloved country.Emails don''t, observes Sahgal, ''have the prestige of letters, but they havean immediacy that letters can''t have. Our mails made for the sense of apresence nearby with whom it became natural to share views, feelings anddaily doings''. United by their love of books and their politics, separated bydistance-Nagarkar in Mumbai, Sahgal in Dehradun-this immediacy wasthe key to a friendship that remains an enigma to an outsider. For Sahgal, theemotions appear to be those of a friend, albeit a close and loving one. ForNagarkar, 72 to Sahgal''s 87 when the correspondence began, the feelings rundeeper; he misses her constantly, and proclaims his love.This collection of mails is a rare and poignant document, an intimate glimpseinto the life and times of two extraordinary writers who drew strength fromeach other in their personal and political battles.

One of our most courageous and eloquent storytellers, Nayantara Sahgal's superb mastery over language and history make this bold new work a compelling story that is as disturbing as it is beautifully told. Prabhakar, returning home one evening, comes upon a corpse at a crossroads, naked but for the skullcap on his head. Days later, he listens to Katrina's stark retelling of a gang rape in a village, as chilling as only the account of a victim can be. And in a macabre sequence, he finds his favourite dhaba no longer serves gular kebabs and rumali roti, while Bonjour, the fine dining restaurant run by a gay couple, has been vandalised by goons. Casting a long shadow over it all is Mirajkar, the 'Master Mind', brilliant policy maker and political theorist, who is determined to rid the country of all elements alien to its culture-as he, and his partymen, perceive it. A professor of political science, Prabhakar observes these occurrences with deepening concern. Is the theory he put forth in his book-that it is not the influence of those who preach goodness and compassion that prevails, but the matter-of-factness of cruelty-playing out before him? In the midst of all this, he meets Katrina, beautiful, half-Russian, wearing the scars of a brutal incident as a badge of honour. Together, they discover that, even in times that are grim, there is joy to be had.

The Day in Shadow can be read at several levels. It is about Simrit, who emerges from the shadows to find a new life with Raj. It is the story of Raj, a Christian, who passionately believes in freedom and refuses to accept fate as the answer to human problems. It is the story of Delhi on the threshold of unseen changes, and a new breed of politicians far removed from the compassion of Gandhi.At every level it charms and delights, is thought provoking and subtle--a memorable novel from a writer known for her complex understanding of human emotions.