In this retelling of Govardhanram Tripathi's sprawling magnum opus, Saraswatichandra, Sameer Acharya makes accessible and brings to life for a modern readership one of Indian literature's great classics. Saraswatichandra has long been regarded as one of the finest works of Gujarati fiction. It had a profound impact on millions of Indians, including Mahatma Gandhi, seeking to navigate the development of an Indian identity while recognizing a changing political and cultural climate. It is believed that the main character, Saraswatichandra, was an inspiration to Gandhi and many of India’s freedom fighters, as a man who sought to learn about a nation of people, so he could devote his life to uplifting that nation, particularly the poor and uneducated. The characters and storylines in Saraswatichandra have gone on to inspire millions of people and has been recreated in both film and television.
Saraswatichandra is a four volume classic written in
Gujarati by Govardhanram Tripathi which has been retold into a single book by Sameer Acharya & has
been published by Harper Collins. Govardhanram Tripathi (1855-1907) was born in
Nadiad, Gujarat & was one of the most popular writers & thinkers of his
time. Sameer Acharya is a writer & director based in Los Angeles.
The story is set in late 19th century India where
we get to meet our protagonists Saraswatichandra & Kumud. Saraswatichandra
is from a rich business family living in Bombay with his father, step-mother
& step-brother while Kumud is a bright girl from Suvarnapur living with her
parents & her feisty younger sister Kusum. As both of them come from well
to do families their match was perfect & after their engagement as they
wrote letters to each other, they slowly fell in love. But their happy days
were numbered as his step-uncle planned a coup to fill the minds of his father
& step mother with poison making them believe that he has become selfish
& blind in love. Hurt because of his father’s words, Saraswatichandra calls
off the wedding & leaves his house to serve the society & make a
difference. On the other hand Kumud’s parents decide to get her married. To
take a glimpse into the intertwined lives of Kumud & Saraswatichandra do
get this book here,
Saraswatichandra is a very famous story which I guess
everyone has heard about in India but to retell & summarize it for
increasing its reach is indeed something for which I would applaud Sameer
Acharya. The story explores several facets of live some of which are truly path
breaking keeping in mind the time frame when this was written. A truly
beautiful story retold delicately, though the pace of the story is a bit
jumbled up. The story by itself is quite simple one, one shouldn’t expect some
heroic twists & turns. The cover is beautiful & the language used is
simple. A story to remember.
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