This is an interesting read about emotions and grief, steeped in the complexity of family dynamics. Ira and Noor are the story runner characters. Ira is the daughter of later, who is dead in some death lodge in Benaras, North India. Ira gets a barrage of calls for attending her funeral, but she is against it. Why – fills the narration of the book. However, you need to tag along with it, with characters and their state of heart and mind. Brimming with seething thoughts and emotively within, Naina’s work will push you into a state of brooding and could compel you to ask yourself – what if it had happened with me – what could have been my opinion about family?

 “When she was little-ish – since she never got to live her childhood like other kids – having to work when she was supposed to study! Well another thing that I can be blamed for but that is for later…”

Ira – the daughter is not only against her mother since a long time – but also distanced herself, living in another city. She has, despite haunting and painful memories of her own life at her home, with her mother, did whatever she could to forget her past, specifically her mother.

But sooner than later Ira and her daughter Myra are dragged up in Benaras by the death lodge people who were the last acquaintances of the dead Noor. A more than few men who were taking care Noor’s dead body have no clue as why someone else sauntered away with her body. What’s the connection? With Ira in Benaras, her old wounds, shames, and a few happy memories with her mother resurfaced inevitably. Ira believed that her mother’s treachery let the family to spiral out of control. A petite and tender girl was somehow salvaged herself from the stigma of social insecurity. It is an astonishing factor of the Indian society – a woman holds hardly any secure future if she has no proper family, for them life turns out as awful as moving through hell.

As the narration ascends and descends with a trumpet of emotions – men and women, old wrongs are dragged out and old insecurities are heightened. Why does Noor wanted to see her only child Ira before death? You must discover that!

Differences in traditions and belief systems across the family form a cram between Ira and Noor, and their own anxious reactions to the situation don’t help. This is a very human story of both parental love and misery, and the matched benefits and detriments that come with family systems. The situations that Noor and Ira go through are heart-aching.

You may appreciate that you got to learn from this grim story portrayal of a family caught in morality and sustenance. If you have had smooth grooming, the book will be very different from your own experiences of family and its allied web of relationships. Most importantly the attitude and thought processes of these people will be different from your panoply of people. By the end of the story, forgiveness takes precedence over forgetfulness. You will relish the story, the exposure to experiences beyond your own, and the chance to think through the meaning of family in the situations these characters stumbled upon.

“The tears in her eyes finally disobeying her, roll out, he comes forward to hug her, but she stops him. She wants to forgive him for everything, but what about forgiveness for things she doesn’t know yet, does that count? Can forgiveness that comes from the heart make up for a cumulative set of mistakes?”

Views on the Characters:

The characters were over-dependent and self-absorbed, yet they resonated with their situations. Ira was portrayed opposite to her grooming and auxiliary characters like Sameer, Chandu, and Mishaal that popped up over time and again added intricately woven richness of the dynamics in which they were involved. Mishaal could be a likeable character after Ira.

Views on the Cover:

The cover of the book is epic. Truly depicting the ever-illuminating Ghats of Benaras! A girl and a man in the boat and in the backdrop blurred burning shadows is a work of some capable book designer. The cover reflects the story, however, one could only relate when they read it completely. Yes, the cover attracts readers – still one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.