The Witch In The Peepul Tree - Book Review

By -

 


Author : Areefa Tehsin

Publisher: Harper Collins

Price: 399 INR

Pages: 327

Genre: Period Drama/ Historical Fiction/ Murder Mystery

Buy At: Amazon

About the Book:

It is Makar Sankranti,1950, when sixteen-year-old Sanaz's body is discovered in her father Dada Bhai's house in Bohrawadi, Udaipur.

A few of those in and around the house that day are the cruel zamindar Rao sahib of Singhgarh, the devout degenerate Hariharan, the young Bhil Nathu, visiting from a remote tribal village to inform Dada Bhai of a leopard kill, the attractive night soil worker Parijat, and the acerbic widow Sugra, who rolls a rosary and wishes for the jeevti dakkan-the living witch in the peepul tree-to be her secret ally.

As the shadows grow long, it becomes clear that something sinister walks the halls of this grand old house. What unfolds is a genre-bending tale of suspense, intrigue and something so much darker.

Review:

The story is set in 1950s, in a newly independent India, all the pivot events take place on the day of Makar Sankranti with kite flying competitions, cheers and revelry happening in the background. It doesn’t read like a murder mystery. The murder happens in the first chapter. Then the book introduces us to all the characters who frequented Dada Bhai’s villa throughout the day, the lead players around the household, the possible suspects. We get a glimpse into their individual lives, their thoughts and aspirations. There’s Rao Sahib – the Zamindar, Sugra – Dada Bhai’s widowed mother, Parijat – the untouchable nightsoil worker who collected feces from Dada Bhai’s household early morning, Hariharan – the middleman, Nathu – the person from Bhil Tribe. The narrative proceeds from their perspective. We also meet some supporting characters – the larger-than-life Dada Bhai, his sons engrossed in flying kites on the terrace, the sly servant Ismail, the old housekeeper Badi Bi – a child widow, Sugra’s daughter Khadija, a discreet visitor – a transgender, Parijat’s husband Bhoola, another Bhil Doonga, Dada Bhai’s saree-clad wife Mena who teaches the women of the neighborhood to read and write, etc. Each of them has a role in the tale.

The chronology of events shifts from before noon to morning and then to the start of the investigation late afternoon by the inspector and his aides. The first half of the book is when the context is set, the characters introduced, their histories and lives laid bare. Each of them has something to hide. The second half is when the investigation begins and the unraveling starts to take place. The secrets are slowly spilled open, the mysteries revealed one after the other. Some are just shocking, unexpected yet understandable. What lays at the forefront is not just the murder mystery, but pitiful caste discriminations, the sorry lives of those belonging to the lower rungs of the societal hierarchy, the backlash against attempts for women empowerment, the weird belief in superstition devastating lives, the hypocrisy of ideals and action and the holiness vs unholiness of religion. This book makes not just a good read but an essential one.

The narrative is crisp, no detail gone wasted, no lengthy descriptions. The author marvels in brevity, providing such apt visuals of the scenes with few words. Character building and world building is what keeps the reader going. The ever-present witch in the peepul tree has a mention in every chapter. But there is greater evil in humans than the invisible spirit residing on the tree.

Few Quotes that stayed with me:

“They didn’t need to purify money. Money had no caste. It passed effortlessly from the bed of a prostitute to the begging bowl of a leper to the praying(preying) thali of a priest to the bloodstained plank of a butcher.”

 

“Nothing in this household went to waste. The worn-out odhani were converted into curtains, the torn curtains to scrubbing cloths, the threadbare scrubbing cloths stuffed in blankets, the blankets used as pall for the dead.”

 

“But what do men know about childbearing and birth? Except having a few more pegs of mauda with other men as the wives are lost in screams and agony and fluids pouring out of their wombs.”

 

“Death was an urchin running unbidden around the house. Toppling things. Poking needles. Throwing tantrums. Spilling pots. Ripping curtains. Raising hell.”

 

“Beatings didn’t matter. She had learnt early on that life was a sum of your scars.”

 

About the Author:

Arefa grew up treading jungles with her naturalist father. She was often found trying to catch a snake or spin a yarn. She’s the author of several fiction and non-fiction books and contributes to dailies and magazines like The Indian Express, The Hindu, Deccan Herald, Scroll.in and Outlook Money. Her picture book 'The Elephant Bird' was read at 3200+ locations in India from the slums to the Presidential library on the International Literacy Day, 2016 and translated in more than 40 languages. A few schools in India and Sri Lanka are using her books as textbooks and supplementary readers. 'Do Tigers Drink Blood and 13 Other Mysteries of Nature' is being translated in Chinese and 'Amra and the Witch' has been translated in Hindi. Her books have been shortlisted for awards like FICCI Best Book of the Year Award, NEEV Book Award and The Hindu-Goodbooks Best Author Award. She was appointed the Honorary Wildlife Warden of Udaipur district and has pursued nature conservation through her writings and columns. Find out more on www.arefatehsin.com

 

 This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program.

Top post on Blogchatter

Comments

  1. Tomichan MatheikalJuly 4, 2023 at 7:20 PM

    I liked the book too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AmbicaJuly 4, 2023 at 7:43 PM

    True, nothing went to waste in those days. Also, human lives remain the same, whatever the era. It's a gripping tale and I enjoyed the way Arefa Tehsin has woven the plot.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Queeristan by Parmesh Sahani

By -
Image
  Queeristan (Amazon Link) Thanks to Audible Free Trial I listened to this amazing non-fiction on LGBTQ inclusion in Indian workplaces. Author Parmesh Sahani identifies as gay Indian, working closely with Godrej higher management and employees for years to create an inclusive workplace, both legally and in spirit. This book is a result of those years of experience, research, collaboration with individuals from difference spectrum of the society and organizations who has successfully transitioned into a queer friendly one.   Indian history is inclusive. From the Khajuraho temple architectures, to Konark to the Rig Veda, there is existing proofs even 2000 years ago of Indian inclusiveness of queer. It’s the draconian British law that criminalised it, which was scraped in 2009, came into effect once again following a sad judgement in 2013 and eventually was scraped off for good in 2018. I am in awe of the lawyers who fought this legal battle- colleagues and partners – Arundhati Katju
9 comments

Popular posts from this blog

Empress Ki : A story of an epic scale

By -
Image
Empress Ki Poster (behance.net) Empress Ki is the most elaborate, gripping, and thrilling series I have watched this year. And at 51 episodes , it is the longest Korean drama series I have ever watched. Even though the number seems daunting and too much, it’s worth it all. If you like period dramas, you won’t want to give this one a miss. It was in 2016 that I first read about Empress Ki, the historical drama that had garnered much praise and accolades from the audience and critics alike. Most Korean dramas are just 16 or 20 episodes long. So 51 seemed never-ending to me then. It wasn’t until 2017 that I decided to at least try the first episode. And I was hooked. But owing to the various circumstances I didn’t continue watching it. It was just last month that I remembered this epic story and watched it to completion within just a few days. Believe it or not, midway through it, I was almost literally pulling my hair out, in anticipation of what would happen next. I wou
Read more

E[x]ploring Odia Literature Through 'Punyatoya'

By -
Image
Odia is my mother tongue but I had never really focussed on Odia novels, given that I love reading. Of late I realised that I should explore the culture and language of my native land, and see for myself whether it suits my reading sensibilities. I read “Jagyaseni” by Pratibha Ray a few years back, over a span of several months. It is a retelling of Mahabharata from Draupadi’s perspective, which brings about her inner turmoils, confusions, decisions, desires and dreams, really well. It was the first Odia novel I ever read. Three days back, I completed reading my second novel in Odia, coincidentally it is by the same author. “Punyatoya” - literally it means the river, or ‘as pure as the river’. It is also the name of a revered river in Indian mythology. The book has been translated into Hindi with the same title, with the tagline “the story of a village girl Meghi”. Other translated versions are in Marathi and Malayalam. The story follows a young girl named Barsha,
Read more

The Hyderabad Playlist – A song story

By -
Image
It is human nature to dwell in the past, worry about the future and forget all about the present. I still miss the days spent in Hyderabad. I miss the study schedules, eating out, street shopping, and the city tours. I miss the roads, the townships and the metros. But I clearly remember that I just wanted the days to pass quickly so that I could return home, while I was there. And today I miss the view from the terrace of the ladies hostel we stayed in, the floral decorations with chalk, colors and flowers, the flower market, the abundance of curd during lunch hours, the constant ‘amma’ recitals by our wardens and so much more. One of the highlights of the hostel life in Hyderabad at Sri Kamali was queuing up for tea, puri and dosa during breakfast time, and then hurrying to secure a chair the very next moment. And conversations and complaints flowed unhindered during these hours in many languages at once- the most prominent ones being Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and
Read more

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

By -
Image
I had expected to be bored thinking it to be some over-the-top comedy and quit watching this midway. I had not expected to be sucked into their lives, in upstate Manhattan, and feel their life change over the ten seasons so personally. Ten years in the lives of these characters. And this attachment to that apartment. I had not expected that this sitcom that had been airing globally for ten long years, to not at all be ‘over-hyped’. I wish I had set aside my judgement and for once watched this during my college days. It would have been such a cherished experience. It would have validated all the emotions of those days. Watching the six friends’ personal trajectory from Season 1 to 10, over the ten years, through ten Thanksgivings and Christmases and Hanukah, was such a pleasure. I never knew I could enjoy comedy, and in comes Chandler. I remember how in the first few episodes, I couldn’t even remember their names, and now they feel as real and relatable as any other person. We all h
Read more

When Breathe Becomes Air

By -
Image
It was towards the end of the book that I realized that this is almost an unfinished manuscript. But still it feels complete in itself. I was constantly wondering throughout why this book is so short. He is an amazing writer and you know that when you hear his thoughts while reading the book - his narrative - his writing style just reveal his love for poetry, literature, philosophy and spirituality. It was striking that he had persistently wondered about death- the meaning of life- its purpose throughout his growing up years, even while choosing a career. And even after he was first diagnosed with lung cancer, he did the same.   "Literature not only illuminated another's experience, it provided, I believed, the richest material for moral reflection." - on the love for literature.   Paul draws the difference between a job and a calling, something you are meant to do for the world in the limited span of your mortal life, in the first few chapters as a Doctor, before h
Read more

Latest Binge - Emily in Paris

By -
Image
  There is a certain allure to a foreign land, a foreign culture, a different language, unchartered territories and a promise of romantic adventure. The latest offering from Netflix ‘Emily in Paris’ gives us all of these and more. It is all of 10 episodes of 25 or so minutes each, and is worth a binge-watch. It’s about a social media content strategist, Emily Cooper, played by Lily Collins, who moves to Paris from Chicago to work for a marketing firm, a big career opportunity, dreaming of a wonderful life. It’s about her adventures both in career and romantic front, as she learns French, making hilarious mistakes and feeding her Instagram with all-things-Paris. We watch the beauty of Paris in its culture of life-first-work-second, all things luxurious- from fashion to perfume to wine, the spiraling staircase of a hundred-year old building where Emily stays, the ornate architecture, the old-world charm mingling effortlessly with the new, the elaborate office dinners, the picturesque w
Read more

July : A Month of Massive Changes #MondayMusings

By -
Image
View from the terrace of my hostel (No Filter used in any image in this post) July has been a special month for me. Not just because it is my birthday month, but because many new beginnings, many fresh starts, and many turning points of my life have happened in July. It's mid of the year when I have looked back at what the year was like for the first six months and have anticipated and dreamt about the coming six months. Goals and resolutions are reviewed in July. Forest Research Institute, Dehradun These initial days of college are all about fun, making interactions, creating friendships and increasing your network. It's less on course works and assignments. So we are trying to take full advantage of it. I have made a few friends at the hostel too, most of them are my juniors, with a huge age gap. But the good news is none of us can feel this gap. We visited the Forest Research Institute this weekend. It was a good trip. I stopped at almost every tree to take
Read more