For the last 9 days I was madly immersed in a book written on spiritual India. Nine lives, as the name suggests accounts nine stories from nine different walks of life, which I finished precisely in nine days; reading one story a day. Undoubtedly it is a travelogue which deserves immense appreciation from Indian readers and those who prefer to read about India. William Dalrymple, a British journalist turned writer, has written some really famous books namely the Last mughal and In Xanadu, but this one really stole my heart. No amount of appreciation can quench the pulchritude of this book.
The protagonists in most of the stories narrate their stories that stand entirely in contrast to what they turned out to be, yet there is no missing link and not a single story appears to be concocted, as the writer claims it’s ingenuity in the beginning.
The first story tells the story of a Jain nun who was a girl with all the luxuries and love of life. But one day she is moved by the Jain asceticism and decides to choose the path of renunciation. Her battle with emotions and family are beautifully written in the book. Apart from that the magnificent description scenes of the places of rendezvous is yet another ornament.
This book brought a little amount of disappointment for me, when I learned about so many things about my country that I never ever heard of. Each one the nine stories tells you something that you never knew. For instance folk singing in India, specifically in Pabusar of Rajasthan, thought to be a mere entertainment, has a much deeper sense. William meets a local bhopa singer, Mohan Bhopa who is preserving the 600-year old tradition of epic singing. They have sung 4000 line long poems for generations. It is believed by locals as an art of resurrecting the warrior God Pabuji, who looks after their perils and problems. However, the bhopa singers are struggling hard to keep this art alive, which is fading away with time and new modes of entertainment.
Out of all the nine tales, my personal favourite is of course the The Singer of Epics, about a Bhoopa singer, who explains, exemplifies and brags about the magical abilities of Bhoopa singing to William. As the story nears the end, the message becomes clear; not always does the destiny favour the good. Perhaps the most dramatic story of the book followed by The monk’s Tale.
I decided to finish this book in nine days, and I did it. For sure this is the only book so far in which I did so. This book is a real magnet.
