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December 29, 2002
Review: Love and marriage
THE world loves a lover, and tales of love continually proliferate. From the larger than life exploits of the Mesopotamian mythical characters Innana and Damuzai, the Egyptian love poems preserved on the papyri, and Kalidasa’s tender outpourings in Malavikagnimitra and Rtusamhara, to present day Harlequin’s novels, lovers’ histrionics have kept readers enthralled. While one may not agree completely with La Rochefoucauld’s maxim “There is only one kind of love, but there are a thousand copies”, many love stories, irrespective of their literary merit, adhere to a set pattern. The lovers meet, fall in love, and experience a little “madness in love” (Nietzsche), with the remaining plot devoted to overcoming societal and personal obstacles. Preeti Singh’s Circles of silence follows a similar format.
The story revolves mainly around Rattan Malhotra and Nalini Thapar. Rattan, portrayed as a good-looking and likable personality from an affluent family, leads a charmed life in a palatial house. However, an ominous tone is struck in the very beginning when the reader is alerted to the fact that Rattan has a birth mark on his right shoulder and “This is of some terrible significance...” By page six, the reader is informed of the impending tragedy as the fakir, who looks at Rattan at the time of his birth, forecasts that “his [Rattan’s] own will eat him up”.
After completing his education from a university in Boston, Rattan returns to India and is married off to Tanvi, a petite, pretty girl from a middle class family. Ostensibly, Rattan has it all, until the point Tanvi dies. He believes that his wife committed suicide but in reality she has been murdered. Trying to put the past behind and begin anew, Rattan leaves for Egypt. Here he meets Nalini, the daughter of an Indian diplomat. Having studied and worked in Delhi, Nalini loves the city but after her mother’s death devotes herself to supervising and organising events at Bharat Bhavan, the Indian Ambassador’s residence, and other diplomatic activities that her father’s post necessitates. (Preeti Singh lived in Egypt with her diplomat husband and one wonders how much of Nalini’s character is autobiographical).
Inevitably, there is the mutual attraction. The courting rituals begin, and cautiously the two begin to admit their feelings for each other. Lovers’ dialogues follow. For instance Rattan tells Nalini that his favourite place is his apartment’s balcony from where he can look towards Nalini’s residence. “‘I look your way all the time,’ said Rattan. ‘But I can’t decide whether it is better to do this in the daytime, when I can see the buildings a little more clearly, or at night, when I try to imagine which twinkling light belongs to your room.’”(p302).
Rattan is unable to communicate to Nalini the facts of his tragic past. The circles of silence are broken when Maneka, Nalini’s friend comes from India to spend time in Egypt. On recognizing Rattan, Maneka informs Nalini that the man she is in love with is actually a murderer, responsible for his wife’s homicide. She claims Tanvi was killed for dowry. Nalini is faced with the difficult dilemma, namely, can she trust Rattan? Or is he responsible for his wife’s death?
In search of truth, she goes to India and meets with Rattan’s mother Pammi and Tanvi’s mother Mrs Madan. She unearths the reason, and the persons responsible for Tanvi’s death. The discovery absolves Rattan of any blame, and the lovers reunite. Virgil’s triumphant words, uttered in 19 BC, ring true — ‘Omnia vinci amore’ (love conquers all).
Preeti Singh, editor of the Oxford University Press, New Delhi, is a smooth story teller. Circles of silence is her first novel, and despite a fairly predictable narrative, she manages to sustain the reader’s interest. The descriptions of the various locations, ranging from the Valley of the Kings to a cold, wintering morning in Delhi, are evocative.
Credit must also be given to Singh for not creating a heroine who languishes in love. Nalini is a strong, sensible woman, who is not afraid to fight for her love. She has investigative qualities, and manages to find the truth, even if this means going from Egypt to India (unlike Rattan, who seems to accept the fact that his wife committed suicide, despite the fact that he is baffled by her death and can find no reason for her having taken so drastic a step).
Towards the end, when she finds the truth, Nalini has the strength to keep her findings to herself, instead of confiding in Rattan. Ironically, Nalini in her quest for truth seems to trade a group of secrets for another, and the circles of silence are not obliterated.
Overall, this book should be read when one is in a mood for light entertainment. It will be most enjoyed by readers who believe that the “course of true love never did run smooth”, but nevertheless like to see a happy ending.
Circles of silence
By Preeti Singh
Flame/Hodder & Stoughton Distributed in Pakistan by Liberty Books (Pvt) Ltd, 3 Rafiq Plaza, M.R. Kayani Road, Saddar, Karachi Tel: 021-5683026
Email: libooks@cyber.net.pk
ISBN 0-340-82028-4
503pp. £6.99
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