Lead Review (Sakina’s Kiss)
- Book: Sakina’s Kiss
- Location: Bangalore (Bengaluru)
- Author: Srinath Perur (Translator), Vivek Shanbhag
This is a short novel of around 180 pages, and it is a peak into middle class Indian society. Venkat and Viji are married with a 20 year old daughter, Rekha.
We catch them at a point when Rekha has returned to the family village in Kanataka for a short spell, and whilst she is a way, 2 youths, purporting to be classmates, come calling for her. Her father Venkat sends them packing but the next day they return with heavyweights, men who have influence in the area, and, of course, this visit unsettles the couple.
They then discover that Rekha had, in fact, been taken to the bus station for her return to the city but she has not arrived home, and the couple hightails it to the village to see what has happened to her, imaging the very worst-case scenarios.
This unsettling event prompts Venkat to ponder the present in terms of the past, and the stress on the marriage starts to eat away at their relatively harmonious balance. His authority comes under threat, and he has to re-evaluate his position within the household and within a broader, societal construct. Throw in an element of politics, with a nod to right-wing influence and this becomes a short treatise on the state of marriage and patriarchy in India.
Nothing is particularly resolved, and the story can meander a little and lose focus. The writing, though, is good and the translation works well.
A shout out to the excellent #bookcover designer.
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