Book Review: Kathputli

Read on April 15, 2017

Kathputli – Ushasi Sen Basu

A wonderfully refreshing read! I took the first few pages slow, actually very slowly… and then all of sudden I just was so engrossed in the story, it just drew me into it! Beautifully narrated and really, a story with a soul. I was gripped – I was quite convinced that the plot involved a story within a story and was happy that my Popsugar prompt would get fulfilled, but very soon was quite pleasantly intrigued & surprised at how the lives of so many people were involved within the stories… so it served another Popsugar prompt of the story being set in a different era, of sorts… and yet, everything about the story felt personal.

The by-line that went “In Search of a Lost Woman” made sense at so many points in the book, it actually got me to ponder a little bit of a lost me in the various scenarios. My first thoughts about the book were real, heartfelt and honest. But most importantly, it was a lovely take on the various colours of what ‘truth’ was/ is. And yet, the search for truth for each of us. The author has so beautifully taken the truth of a skeleton in the family closet and shed light to unravel the intricately woven stories across generations – all through the words of the family women. In search of understanding strength for her family women to get through life and its challenges, the author cleverly links various social truths and injustices to the cultures and attitudes of society in pre-Independence India and drew introspective parallels with the culture of modern society.

To me, it felt like I was hearing these stories first hand from the women – like they were my family. The reality of emotion was left to the reader to comprehend, and that made it real – the depth was not forced upon me. I was leaning towards having a solid dislike towards the mother-in-law, but was impressively given a moment to possibly consider her as human as opposed to the scathingly, horrible witch in the mind of a woman possibly suffering from post natal depression.

All in all, a wonderful read. It was an amazing journey to take with Chitrangda and the thammas and all the endearing Bengali terms and words. For how it made me feel, and how easily it transported me from one perspective to another, and yet, hold the romance, the family unit and the resurgence of human strength, I LOVED the book. I’d give it a 5* for just that. And after all, a wonderful work of art by a fellow raccoon… this needs a big SRR Thumbs Up!! Ushasi, thank you for this beautiful journey!!! Well done!!