History is a fascinating subject if explained in the right way. Bringing out historical events in a way one can relate to them, instead of listing them as dates on a calendar, is the best way to learn history. And Aavarana excels in that.

This is the first novel of SL Bhyrappa that I’m reading and I’m glad I came across his novels sooner rather than later. Aavarana is a multi-layered story which needs to be read many times to appreciate its nuances. At its core, it’s a novel which emphasizes that truth must be told regardless of the consequences and the way to build a harmonious community is not by masking history but by learning from it.

The story traces the journey of Razia (Lakshmi) a liberal, rebellious and independent film-maker who goes against her Gandhian father to marry the person she loves and converts to Islam for formality, under the assumption that her husband is also progressive and open-minded like her. When she later discovers that isn’t the case and goes back to her father’s place after his death, she discovers he had been researching on India’s history. This sets Lakshmi on a quest of uncovering the true history of India and the many sacrifices and battles our ancestors have made against invaders.

This book can be considered a history book in many ways. I loved the fact that the author went through hundreds of primary sources to give an accurate account of various events and personalities, from Tipu Sultan to Aurangzeb, from the destruction of Kashi Vishwanath temple to the treatment of slaves in zenanas, the core tenets of Islam and the essence of Hinduism. It weaves the past and the present in a beautiful way, and we see comparisons to present day characters which are very relateable to the current “secular” climate in India. The protagonist, who writes a novel using fictional characters to paint a picture of real events was yet another genius structure by the author.

When I was reading about the book in Wiki, I noticed that there were a lot of criticisms on the book as being fundamentalist and divisive. That made me respect the author more because he has in fact anticipated this reaction and played it out in the book itself providing adequate responses to all of their baseless criticisms.

Aavarana is a delightful book and is a treat to history lovers and everyone who respects and values India’s ethos. Satyameva Jayate!

Originally published here.