An Atlas of Impossible Longing (46 page)

Christopher MacLehose – perfect reader, magnificent editor – has shown me all that it is possible for a publisher to be. His invisible ink is on every page.

Ravi Dayal used his considerable powers of persuasion to make me show him a draft when I was too uncertain to part with it; his acerbic pencilling in the margins became my last conversation with him.

Thanks to Shruti Debi for her persistence and her descriptions of crumbling old homes, some of which have entered the story; Laura Palmer for her reassuring combination of friendliness and efficiency; Nayanjot Lahiri for saving me from archaeological blunders; Katharina Bielenberg for being a last, super-fine sieve; Rohan D'Souza's writings for teaching me about floods, and Rajdeep Mukherjee for all the thrillers. The tribal song is adapted from one in Verrier Elwin's
Leaves from the Jungle.

Friends (especially the B.M.C. and Ladeez Sangeet) and family made this book possible by just being there. Among them, Myriam Bellehigue, Kristine Witt-Hansen, Uday Roy, Manishita Das, Arundhati Ray, Sharmi Roy, Kavita Sivaramakrishnan, and Angela Smith have tolerated various ill-timed demands on their affection, which included the reading of drafts. Mukul Kesavan, Ivan Hutnik, Sikha Ghosh, Thomas Abraham, Prateek Jalan, and Ram Guha provided encouragement and insider info, and Uday Kumar space and supplies.

Thanks to Ma, Pa, and their bookshop for room in their lives and shelves; Chandra Dorai and Sukanta Chaudhuri for giving me the words; and Biscoot for making it clear that words are not anywhere as expressive as tail, eyes, and paw.

My mother for taking stories I scribbled into schoolbooks as seriously as she did drafts of this novel, and for making me believe I would finish it by simply repeating that I would.

In the end R – and not just for the optimal silences.

Set in the outskirts of a small town in Bengal in the mid-twentieth century,
An Atlas of Impossible Longing
is a multigenerational novel that weaves together a family's story of romance, abandonment, forgiveness, and desire. Told in three powerful parts, the book explores what it means to live with the ghosts of the past, deal with an ever-changing present, and strive toward a blissful future that always seems just out of reach.

1 “The silence that to Amulya meant repletion locked Kananbala within a bell jar she felt she could not prise open for air”
(
page 16
). The move from busy Calcutta to secluded Songarh is life changing for both Amulya and Kananbala, though in very different ways. Discuss how each is affected by the change.

2.
“He would look at [the plants] tenderly, wanting to stroke and pat them
….
He had created a garden where there had been wilderness”
(
page 23
). Describe Amulya's relationship to nature throughout the book. How does he treat the plants in his garden? Similarly, how did you interpret his fascination with the young dancer's Incarnata flower in the first chapter?

3. “The lion's roar was a secret she could not share with anybody else. The others slept on, oblivious to the throbbing wakefulness of the jungle”
(
page 19
). Consider the roar of the lion that Kananbala hears periodically throughout the novel. Do you think Kananbala
is hearing the roar of an actual lion, or do you think, in her madness, she is imagining the noise? What could the noise mean?

4. Marriage can be both a blessing and a struggle, as the married couples in this novel exemplify. Review the various married couples involved in the story and discuss: Which marriage do you think works the best? Which is the unhealthiest? Why?

5. “Bitterly she muttered, ‘God's ways are strange, that He should give children to those who don't care for them and leave me childless”
(
page 132
). Manjula is seldom portrayed as a sympathetic character in the novel, yet her yearning for the child she can never have often gives her a certain vulnerability. How do you view Manjula? Does your opinion of her change over the course of the book?

6. Kananbala and Mrs. Barnum share a bond from the moment Mrs. Barnum initiates the first wave. Does their relationship change after Kananbala witnesses Mr. Barnum's murder? If so, how? Do you think Kananbala and Mrs. Barnum's relationship at all contributes to Mrs. Barnum's fondness for Bakul and Mukunda?

7. The theme of man versus nature cuts through the novel, particularly when Bikash Babu laments the fall of his house to the rising river: “The arrogance,” he repeats. What emotions do you think he is feeling at that moment? At what point do you think he realizes that nature has truly won?

8. Mukunda's unknown caste gives him both trouble and freedom throughout the novel. In what ways does it help him? Hurt him? At any point, do you think he is treated unfairly because of his indefinite lineage?

9. When Mukunda buys the house in Songarh, he believes he will finally be able to live a fulfilled life. Ultimately, what choices has he made by buying the house? What does he lose, and what does he gain?

10. The pull of forbidden love is strong for many of the characters. Which characters resist this pull, and which seem to welcome it? Are any of them successful in refusing to succumb to forbidden love? If so, who?

11.
“If anyone in his family or neighbourhood got to know, there would be turmoil; Meera would certainly be ostracized, and perhaps he would be too”
(
page 139
). Consider the strain put on the characters by societal expectations. Do you think her certain exclusion from society is the only reason Meera runs from her attraction to Nirmal?

12. The above quote suggests a double standard for women and men in these types of situations; Meera will “certainly be ostracized,” while Nirmal may only “perhaps” suffer society's disdain. How is this double standard a reflection of society, and what is your reaction to it? Do you see a double standard for women and men elsewhere in the novel?

13. Noorie the Parrot plays a small yet significant role in the book and in the hearts of those who closely encounter her. What does she represent for Mukunda, the man who threatens to make “parrot stew” of her? To his wife, who sets the bird free to fend for itself? For Chacha and Chachi, who return to Calcutta to find that Noorie is no longer there?

14. After finishing the book, turn back to the beginning and reread the opening Prologue. Discuss: How has your interpretation of the opening paragraphs changed? Does the Prologue evoke
different emotions now that you are more acquainted with the house and the river?

15. During the massive displacement of the Indian Partition, more than 100,000 people died. Do you see ways in which these events mirror other events taking place in the world today?

1. With the members of your reading group, create a family tree for the characters in the novel. You can use this diagram as a resource during your discussion.

2. Mukunda fondly remembers Chacha's inability to buy anything but books when he comes into a bit of spare money. Chacha appreciates everything from the “beautiful engraving on the title page” to the smell of the pages of a secondhand book. Take a trip to a bookstore or secondhand book sale in your community as Chacha might have done.

3. Meera's favorite hobby is taking care of the young pups she finds by the Songarh ruin. She also enjoys sketching them, the ruin, and the people she loves. Find a person, place, or animal that interests you and sketch that subject in two ways: how the subject truly looks—like Nirmal would request if you were sketching the ruin—and how the subject makes you feel.

4. Anuradha Roy's characters live in an ever-changing India, and the novel often touches upon the goings-on of the time period. Using the Internet or your local library as a resource, learn more about India's history in the first half of the twentieth century.

5. The symphony
Finlandia
by Sibelius plays a part in the book: Makunda hears the symphony in school on
page 221
, the flute melody in it entrances Mukunda when Bakul plays it for him on
page 241
, and he plays it himself on page
273
. Find a recording of symphony and try to locate the movement with the flute that Bakul plays. With your group, discuss what Mukunda may have been thinking or feeling when he heard the melody, and the emotions it brings up in you.