“The Garden of No Sorrows” by Deepthi Nair

Deepthi Nair has chosen to begin her story with the flashback format in her delightful book, “ The Garden of No Sorrows“. As you would know, in this style the writer describes a present scenario ( in this case events in the year 2020) before plunging into the story which begins decades ago. At the National Defence Academy, Aarcha is caught up with many emotions watching her only son Arjun pass out from this prestigious institution to begin his career as an officer in the Indian Army.

I liked the book for the author’s detailed descriptions of life in villages /small towns in Kerala, like Kolachal and Marthandam; of the people who live there, and their approach to life which is very different from the one shown typically by city bred folk. Ms. Nair has a good grip on both scenarios! The part about the letter to Yamuna was quite striking as is the description of Bhargavi Kunju.

The central character of the story is a lady called Aarcha. We see how she grows up, sharing time, possessions and secrets with her only sibling, her elder sister, Priya; and how she is brought up by her parents, Sharada and Aravindan Pillai, who again have very different outlooks of life. Aarcha, at a young and impressionable age is attracted by Govind, a doctor preparing for his MD. He was in his late twenties and had been through a failed marriage.

Although she does not love him, for various reasons, Aarcha marries Govind only to discover how different he is as a person when seen from close quarters. By then of course it was too late for her. She has to resign her job on discovering that she is  pregnant. Later, a few years after the birth of her son, she resumes her career and makes a success of it. Her marriage was giving her no happiness whatsoever.  Govind was becoming more difficult to live with as the days went by.

Her quest for someone who would appreciate her for her qualities is fulfilled by a chance meeting at an airport lounge. She meets the famous author, Jehangir Ansari and this changes her life forever. He of course is already married. He is famous, but like her, is unhappy. The two are attracted to each other despite knowing the constraints faced by them in their respective marriages.

Deepthi Nair has made an impressive sketching of her characters. The story has a bit of a slow start but picks up as we go along and ends with an interesting climax. Overall, I thought it was a good read and I look forward to reading more from this author.