On the occasion of India’s 74th Republic Day, I pen my thoughts on Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s latest novel Independence.

Set in the Bengal region in the years leading up to India’s independence, the novel tells the story of sisters Priya, Jamini and Deepa, whose lives are shaped by the fate of the nation. On the one hand, there is the zeal for independence from colonial rule; on the other, there is the irrevocable pain of partition. In many ways, Independence is an exhilarating but also a heartwrenching story of the price of freedom.

Popular culture has offered many renditions to the partition of the North West Frontier Province, but Independence fills a lacuna in English literature about the division of Bengal. Independence may well be a tribute to the great Rabindranath Tagore as it tells the story of the home and the world at a critical juncture in the country’s history.

Divakaruni is one of the finest writers of contemporary Indian fiction. A testament to her skill as a storyteller is a rich plot that never fails to surprise and stir, and eclectic characters in whose conflicts the reader is instantly invested. The words on the page turn into evocative visuals that stay with you long after you have finished reading. I must also commend the rigorous research that goes into all her works, especially those of historical fiction, making them a delightful way to revisit history. Against the backdrop of an impeccably detailed plot, each sister has a distinct voice, and I found myself rooting for all three of them (it takes a masterful storyteller to make that happen!). The novel also explores the complexity of sibling relationships that may appear pure and uncomplicated on the outside.
In the story of the sisters and in that of the nation, the simultaneity of birth and death is a recurrent theme–the old must continually make way for the new, and the writing handles this with a poignance that moved me to tears more than once.

Read the full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5295158884