Fire on the mountain by Anita Desai is story of three lives Nanda Kaul,
her great-granddaughter Raka and her childhood friend Ila Das. Nanda
Kaul is living alone in the hills of Kasauli. Raka is
recovering from an illness. Hence she is dispatched to Kasauli to
stay with Nanda. Nanda is unhappy with the intrusion in her lonely
life. Raka arrives at Kasauli. But like Nanda she too stays aloof.
She is more happy climbing the mountains and touching the ferns. Then
one day childhood friend of Nanda, Ila comes to visit her for tea. Ila
is a garrulous lady. She has a piercing voice and is very much unlike
Nanda. She is living the life of penury and has to work hard despite
the old age to make money.
The
author takes time to build the plot. The story moves ahead very
slowly. In the beginning it is too boring. The descriptions drag and
drag. Then Raka arrives on the scene. Her relationship with Nanda is
nothing like expected. This is where the author scores as a writer.
You keep on wondering as to why Nanda doesn’t draw her
great-granddaughter closer, make her sit on her lap and kiss her
cheek. The answer is that Nanda is like that and so is Raka. Ila is
a character which is both hilarious and poignant. Like Raka she too
adds lot of colours to this story.
The
story is subtly woven. The backdrop of the hills is beautiful. Though
the start bored me, after finishing the novel, it gave me a
satisfaction of reading something sumptuous. I absolutely loved the
book.
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