'India’s struggle for independence and final victory has been a resonant subject for me from childhood': author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Post the success of The Last Queen, author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s latest offering is a rousing story of three sisters and a nation that is struggling for freedom from British rule. Praising the novel, writer Amitav Ghosh has called Independence ‘a spellbinding saga’ with ‘vividly drawn, compelling characters’. Divakaruni shares her thoughts behind the themes discussed in the novel as well as her visit to Jaipur LitFest early next year.

Was Independence and the freedom struggle a subject you have been meaning to explore?

India’s struggle for independence and final victory has been a resonant subject for me from childhood. My grandfather and mother, who lived through those times, had told me many stories of heroism and also harrowing tales of suffering, sacrifice and death that finally led to India’s freedom. But it was after I finished writing The Last Queen, about Maharani Jindan of Punjab who fought bravely and tragically against the British in the 1800s that I became especially determined to write this story. I needed to write a book when the British are forced to leave India and she is finally decolonised.

Most of the characters in the novel face the conflict of choosing between their personal desires and sacrificing their happiness for the sake of the greater good. By giving each of the sisters a voice, was it your attempt to make them more real and relatable instead of being judged by the reader?

Yes, I wanted to make the three sisters very real and relatable, with their own voices, their own dreams, and even their own flaws. They are torn between duty and desire, which I think is a struggle that many of us have to face. It is my hope that readers will get pulled into the sisters’ stories and their struggles and empathise with them.

There are writers who have focused on women protagonists and their lives but they have been far and few in between. How important is it for you to focus on women characters? Does it come organically to you or do you have to think hard about their stories before putting pen to paper?

As you point out, down the ages there have been many more writers who focused on male heroes. So it is important to me to correct that imbalance and tell the stories of women, often in their own voices, as I have done for Panchaali in Palace of Illusions, Sita in Forest of Enchantments, and Jindan in The Last Queen.

In Independence, we see the freedom struggle through the eyes of the three sisters, Deepa, Jamini and Priya. This is very important for me because unless we learn about and value women’s experiences, troubles and triumphs, we are ignoring a crucial segment of society. I do have to work hard to imagine my characters, especially their inner lives and their voices. Initially when I start a novel, it takes me a long time to get the first pages right.

You have been away from India for a long time. Do you think you have an outsider's gaze on India, its culture and its stories? You have said in an earlier interview that immigration made you a writer. Do you think you would have been a different writer had you stayed in India?

I lived in India for the first twenty years of my life. That was a very formative period, so much of my world-view was shaped at that time. I do think when we live away from a culture, we have the perspective of distance, which is valuable and important, especially when writing a historical novel like Independence. However, it is important for me to keep in touch with the pulse of India, so that my books will be relevant and meaningful for readers today. Thus, I make an effort to keep myself educated as to the social and political changes occurring in India. I am certain I would have been a different kind of writer if I had lived in India—though I hope my work would have been equally focused on women!

What is on your agenda in 2023?

I’m coming to India for a book tour for Independence in January 2023. I will be traveling all over India, including my hometown of Kolkata for the Kolkata Lit Meet. After that, Independence will be published in the USA, and I will get busy with book events, interviews, etc., there. I have also started working on my next book. It will be non-fiction, an inspiring biography. For the moment, the subject needs to remain a secret!

You are visiting the Jaipur LitFest next year. Can you tell us how your previous experiences have been at the fest and how significant you find such platforms? 

I love the Jaipur LitFest. I have been visiting it, on and off, for 10 years, and it grows bigger and more vibrant each year. I am full of admiration for the organisers, how they manage to pull off such a huge event, with so many thousands of attendees and hundreds of authors from all over the world. I am especially energised by all the young people who come to the festival and are so excited about books. I know my books have reached many new readers because of this festival. I think book festivals serve a great purpose in terms of educating and informing attendees, and I am always honored when I am invited to them.