Gods, Graves And Grandmother

by Namita Gokhale

Before mother left, in a long-ago time, we had been very rich-. My grandmother had been a great singer, a kothewali whose voice was more liquid and beautiful than Lata Mangeshkar's. Eleven nawabs and two Englishmen were besotted with love of her-.' From these great heights Gudiya's world plunges into the depths of almost complete penury when she arrives in Delhi with her ancient grandmother, Ammi, fleeing small-town scandal and disgrace. Just when all seems lost, Ammi works a miracle: a slab of green marble stolen from a building site, and five rounded pebbles from a sahib's garden, are transformed by the power of her singing voice into an inviolable place of worship. From here on, Gudiya's life takes on an extraordinary momentum of its own. Ammi dies a small-time saint, Pandit Kailash Nath Shastri predicts a future of impossible luck, the irrepressible Phoolwati becomes an unlikely guardian, and the inhumanly handsome Kalki rides in on his white horse and steals her heart. As we follow the twists and turns of Gudiya's story, we see unfold before us the peculiar dance of chance and will that is human existence.

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1994

Reviews

[Mahathi Gottumukkala · Rating 3 out of 5]

Giving it three stars only because the writing was so good. Otherwise was very irritated by the passivity of the narrator/protagonist, hated the ending, and was troubled by the caricaturing of some characters including the tribal Phoolwati. Ultimately a frustrating read because the main character never seems to exercise an agency or get anywhere from her origins.

That said, the meticulous detailing of how a religious cult springs up around her grandmother is incredible and very well done. Worth reading for that aspect.

[Pearl Khurana · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating: 3.78/5
It's good and it's entertaining!
When it's hilarious, I actually laughed out loud. The setting of the story being Delhi though felt a little... unbelievable?
Or maybe I'm just curious now if things as this do infact exist.
The whole plot though is great, and so are the female characters!
The way the story is told, the parts that you expect to be focused on, aren't...it's surprising and it is good. The character development is also... adequate. It's a breezy read.
Borrowed it from my college library, and seeing its condition I think it's a well-loved book. Or much asked for at least. My first book by Namita Gokhale n I would wanna read her more definitely. It's simple and yet such profound lines here and there, especially towards the end... I liked how it progressed.

[Renuka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Namita Gokhale's writing style! She is a true story teller. There is something extremely riveting and comforting about her writing.

Coming to the book, this was my second book by the author. It's slightly meandering in its flow. There is no point to the story. It's just a story...like this this and this happened 🙂 there is nothing like a conclusion and yet it's not an open ended novel as such. It's the story of survival. How people survive in the unlikeliest of scenarios. How what you want may not be what you need and how sometimes the best option is not the good option.

The characters are relatable. They are not at all perfect. Everyone is a little selfish and a little opportunistic but then that's how most people are in real life too. They are bound together by the most base desire to survive.