The Inheritors, a Novel by Aruna Chakravarti: A Book Review

chillibreeze writer — Shalini Bahadur

A wonderful novel by an Indian author, seamlessly woven together to resurrect a family’s forgotten history, whose branches have spread across the world and traditions lost in the rush to adapt to changing times.

This is Aruna Chakravarti’s first novel and is written in a sensitive and delicate manner, narrating the story through an intricate web of memoirs, letters and hearsay. The narrator is Mono, who delves into the lives of her family as she tries to piece together information on her family’s history for a book she is writing.

The setting is late 19th century Bengal, in the small village of Majilpur, in the home of an orthodox Vaidic Kulin Brahmin. The Vaidic Kulin Brahmins are considered a pure form of Brahmins, the highest and most educated caste in Indian society.

The narration travels forward and backwards through the generations to piece together events that shaped the family as seen through the eyes of Alo, her grandmother Radharani, father Shibkali, brother Shashishekhar and sister-in-law Mrinalini and nieces Chuni, Noni and Mono. The period is 1897 onwards, the time of the struggle of Indian Independence and the impact on the family; their way of life, their culture and values was profound.

As Mono unravels her family’s history, she is able to see the events of the past in a new light. Relatives and ancestors are no longer just names that are heard of but remain unknown; instead, they are real people with all their insecurities, dreams, desires and ideologies laid bare.

The underlying tone of the novel is Mono’s coming to terms with her past and all its hidden facets. The partition of India is the catalyst of change and its effects are felt by the members of the family, each of whom try to adapt to it in their own way, some successfully and others not.

Read this Indian novel for the sincere way that Aruna Chakravarti has shifted from different generations to different relations. It is a beautifully moving book about one family’s struggle to maintain equilibrium in a time of imbalance.

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—About our writer:

Shalini says, "An eternal student, I love learning anything new. I'm addicted to reading, word games, puzzles, traveling and researching trends. Bliss to me is to curl up on the couch with a good book/good site and a cup of cocoa. Currently working as an assistant manager in Retail Operations with a Children's wear retail chain called Gini and Jony. She is an NRI with a BSc degree in Clothing and Textiles from Kansas State University and worked with JCPenney and K-Mart before deciding to return to India."

The Inheritors, a Novel by Aruna Chakravarti: A Book Review

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