When the urge to pen a novel came knocking, Dr Sasiprahba P S found she had little time to spare. There was so much asking for her attention, what with the house surgency stint at the Government Ayurveda College in full swing. Yet, the young doctor managed to give form to her literary indulgence. ‘My Moonlit Pilgrimage’, her debut novel, tells the story of a young woman’s quest for love.
The book, published by Power Publishers, harps on the life of medical students and owes its feel of authenticity to the author’s personal experiences in a similar setting.
Written in the first person, ‘Moonlit Pilgrimage’ is evocative of the writing style of confessional poets. The small, poetic asides that dot the pages and the intensely personal tone of the narrative add to this impression.
The author effortlessly weaves in details from contemporary Malayali society, such as comments on movies and references to recent incidents. It gives one the impression of leafing through the dairy entries of a young girl. ‘Moonlit Pilgrimage’ allows a glimpse into the less-acknowledged facets of the young Malayali. The story, set in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, may rightfully call itself a rare attempt at making the grand old city the milieu of fiction in English. The book is also available on Flipkart.
Meanwhile, when Shoba Nair traveled to the United States, diligently taking down notes of the less frequented places, she noticed that there is more to travelogues than detailed description of the places. In her travelogue, ‘Waves in the Mountains’, she introduces interesting anecdotes and connects the myths and stories to make it a fascinating read.
For instance, the squirrels she saw racing on the tree trunks in the US lacked the three stripes found on their Indian counterparts. Here, the author digresses to beautifully weave in the myth about the helpful squirrel in the Ramayana epic that helped Lord Ram construct the Sethu Bridge.
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