A Study of Political and Historical Issues Taken Up in Sashitharoor’s Fiction

Pages:64-66
Parvir Kumar (Department English, Jat College, Rohtak, Haryana)

Sahi Tharoor’s has written, The Great Indian Novel, in 1989. It is his maiden work of fiction, gave him fame when it got published. In this novel, he attaches fiction with politics and myth to reality in a masterful way. It vastly entertains, yet broadens the reader’s understanding of India’s political culture and history. He presents the real and colourful history of 20th century Indian politics with the great Hindu epic The Mahabharata in a suspicious tone that leaves the need gasping at his boldness. He blends poetry and prose in a style that helps him shift from serious and sublime moods to the highly ridiculous. Tharoor makes fun of both the British and Indians in the novel. He says that nobody is above comment and there is no problem in identifying the characters he parodies from the era of India’s independence struggle and the partition of Pakistan. There are also profound and poignant lessons about the Indian experience that can be applied to people and nations across the globe. There is no clearcut demarcation between myth, history and reality. The whole novel is like a rich tapestry with the reality of Indian politics and history woven together with the epic and mythical threads of The Mahabaratha.