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Haunting Bombay

by Shilpa Agarwal (Goodreads Author)

3.52 of 5 stars 3.52 · rating details · 236 ratings · 61 reviews

After her mother’s death crossing the border from Pakistan to India during Partition, baby Pinky was taken in by her grandmother, Maji, the matriarch of the powerful Mittal family. Now thirteen years old, Pinky lives with her grandmother and her uncle’s family in a bungalow on the Malabar Heights in Bombay. While she has never really been accepted by her uncle’s family, sh

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Hardcover, 362 pages

Published April 1st 2009 by Soho Press

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Dec 21, 2012 Sue rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, novels

If I were to speak of this book in one word it would be "stunning" which is a word so overused in reviews that it almost means nothing but I mean it literally. At the end, I was absolutely stunned and it took awhile to recover from the final twist.

I am also overwhelmed by its complexity, which makes it a challenge for me to review. In the tradition of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, she writes a novel that questions, critiques and gives loving homage to the survivors, the marginalized, the lost...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Lily rated it 5 of 5 stars

Tengo que reconocer que nada más ver el título, la portada y el argumento de La casa de los aromas sagrados yo ya estaba medio prendada de la novela, y es que India siempre ha sido un país que me ha fascinado por el misticismo de su cultura y de sus gentes. Y puedo decir tras haberla degustado que ha sido una delicia para los sentidos de la que estoy totalmente enamorada.

La historia principal gira en torno a una mansión de la época de la colonización inglesa en la que ahora vive una familia que...more Tengo que reconocer que nada más ver el título, la portada y el argumento de La casa de los aromas sagrados yo ya estaba medio prendada de la novela, y es que India siempre ha sido un país que me ha fascinado por el misticismo de su cultura y de sus gentes. Y puedo decir tras haberla degustado que ha sido una delicia para los sentidos de la que estoy totalmente enamorada.

La historia principal gira en torno a una mansión de la época de la colonización inglesa en la que ahora vive una familia que ha mejorado notablemente su economía gracias a los desguaces y al comercio con metales. La protagonista es una niña, Pinky, sobrina de los dueños de la casa. Su abuela materna la rescató de la zona de Pakistán tras la partición de territorios y la trajo a vivir con la familia tras la muerte de su madre. Es, sin duda, una muchacha muy especial que despierta una enorme ternura. Pronto comienza a relacionarse con un espíritu que habita en un armario bajo llave y así comienza a desarrollarse una preciosa historia mágica en la que el amor, el misterio y la intriga se entrelazan maravillosamente. La mezcla entre lo material y lo espiritual se produce con una gran naturalidad, envolviéndonos en ese mundo sobrenatural al que los occidentales somos bastante ajenos pero que para un hindú es algo inherente a su cultura.

Paralelamente a la historia personal de Pinky y su familia, Shilpa Agarwal nos dibuja un detallado panorama de la situación india en los años sesenta que redondea la novela aportándole un toque histórico muy interesante. Uno de los temas principales que desarrolla la novela es la partición del territorio y la división en dos países (India y Pakistán) y su impacto en la vida de las personas que vivían en uno u otro lado del territorio. Me ha encantado conocer el contexto social y económico que se vivía por aquel entonces en la India.

La autora teje maravillosamente un delicado y complejo tapiz de olores, sensaciones y sabores que nos permiten degustar el corazón de la India más mística. Entre sus páginas me encontraba rodeada por un mundo de vívidos colores e intensos estímulos (la arrolladora fuerza de un monzón, la delicadeza del roce de la seda, el sabroso gusto de la comida especiada). Brillantes y ricas descripciones de una realidad exótica.

Y en cuanto a los detalles externos puedo decir que la traducción me ha gustado mucho (es algo que por mis estudios yo miro bastante), incluso la adaptación del título al español me ha parecido todo un acierto. Además, la exquisita presentación de la portada y la encuadernación aportan mucho más valor al conjunto de la obra. Se nota que todos los detalles que rodean La casa de los aromas sagrados están muy cuidados y se ha trabajado duro por ofrecer una estupenda edición.

En definitiva, una novela deliciosa que merece ser degustada como el mejor de los manjares.(less)

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Oct 09, 2009 Literary Feline rated it 4 of 5 stars

Ghosts are like secrets. You may not always be able to see them, but they linger, always present, always influencing those around them. Shilpa Agarwal's novel, Haunting Bombay, tells the story of the Mittal family, three generations living under the same roof. Secrets cannot be hidden forever. And the dark family secret in the Mittal household would soon be let loose by the unbolting of a door by an innocent girl.

Pinky is thirteen years old. The year is 1960. She never knew her mother, a refugee...more Ghosts are like secrets. You may not always be able to see them, but they linger, always present, always influencing those around them. Shilpa Agarwal's novel, Haunting Bombay, tells the story of the Mittal family, three generations living under the same roof. Secrets cannot be hidden forever. And the dark family secret in the Mittal household would soon be let loose by the unbolting of a door by an innocent girl.

Pinky is thirteen years old. The year is 1960. She never knew her mother, a refugee who died during the Partition. Pinky was taken in by her loving grandmother, Maji. The two live with Maji’s only son, his wife and their three sons. Pinky has never understood why the door to the children’s bathing area is bolted every night. One night, in the heat of despair, Pinky dares to unlock the door and it unleashes the ghost of a baby once drowned, who is now set on vengeance.

A family, that by all appearances on the outside is healthy and happy, suddenly begins to disintegrate, proving just how fragile their bonds truly were. Pinky’s uncle for years has turned to alcohol to soothe his suffering. His wife longs for the upper hand, always wanting to be the best among her friends and family, and will do just about anything to get her way. Seventeen-year-old Nimish moons for the neighbor girl while Pinky pines for him. Then there are the twins, one with a sweet tooth and the other a bit of a trouble maker. The four servants in the house have their own stories: two sisters having fled famine and worse in their childhood; the driver from the slums; and the cook, a man of honor who is devoted to his wife. Maji seems to be the one person who is holding the family together, but as her control slips, and as the family’s secrets begin to surface, they risk losing everything. Pinky is at the core of it all, and she is determined to uncover the truth in order to save her family.

Shilpa Agarwal reaches into her own family history to help shape her fictional tale, offering the reader a glimpse into a family’s darkest and also strongest moments. It was easy to get lost in the story and feel like a part of the family. I was especially drawn to Pinky, so innocent and yet courageous. She may not have known her place in the household, but she certainly knows her own mind. I was also partial to Nimish, always lost in his books. He may not have been the strongest character, but he loved deeply.

The heat before the monsoons and then the coming of the harsh rain mirrored the events taking place in the novel: a seemingly peaceful existence suddenly uprooted by the storms. The author brings Bombay to life, offering a taste of Indian culture as she takes the reader into an upper class Indian family as well as deep into the city’s underbelly, where crime runs rampant. The reader gets a sense of the injustices that existed during that time period, including the corruption and prejudices.

The magical aspects of the story are interwoven into the family’s tragedy seamlessly. In the author’s guest post here at Musings of a Bookish Kitty, Shilpa Agarwal mentions that the spirits are “a metaphor for those who have been silenced.” In Haunting Bombay, the ghosts have no voice and are often invisible; however, they can only be ignored for so long. The ghosts, like the Mittal family’s secrets, will come out and be heard or they will destroy all those who suppress them.

Haunting Bombay lives up to its title. It is a haunting tale full of mystery, forbidden love, dark secrets, and mysticism. Shilpa Agarwal’s writing is beautiful, her story intense. I fell in love with this novel on the very first page and that feeling never wavered. If anything, it grew with each turn of the page. There was so much I liked about this novel; so much I haven’t said. Do you have a day or two? Haunting Bombay would make a great book club selection.
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Feb 19, 2013 Zen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2013

Haunting Bombay really wasn't for me. At its best, it was an engaging ghost story filled with Indian tradition and folklore, and lots of intriguing history. It begins with a woman seeking revenge, continues with a girl seeking answers, and culminates in a series of supernatural phenomena that affect the entire Mittal family and those around them.

What dragged this book down for me was that I constantly felt like I was watching one of the supernatural Hindi dramas my grandparents are addicted to,...more Haunting Bombay really wasn't for me. At its best, it was an engaging ghost story filled with Indian tradition and folklore, and lots of intriguing history. It begins with a woman seeking revenge, continues with a girl seeking answers, and culminates in a series of supernatural phenomena that affect the entire Mittal family and those around them.

What dragged this book down for me was that I constantly felt like I was watching one of the supernatural Hindi dramas my grandparents are addicted to, but nonchalantly pretend not to care about. Every character fit one typical role or another: the innocent, unfairly-treated heroine; the unreasonably melodramatic lady of the house who basically exists to make the heroine's life miserable; the grouchy corrupt businessman who abandons his family in times of need; the dominating yet sympathetic old lady clutching her prayer beads; the chubby kid whose affinity for fried snacks is played for laughs. The characters certainly came to life, but mainly because — even with my limited exposure to dramas — I've literally seen them all before.

Even when you rationalize the commonplace characters, I think the way the story played out contributed to the soap opera feeling more than anything: lots of flashbacks, tense confrontations, and dramatic moments where the entire household gathers to witness a shocking event. I half-expected to hear whooshing sound effects as the camera panned across the room to each character's face, followed by a series of tight reaction shots of the same faces. (If you've ever had to sit through a Hindi drama, you know exactly what I'm talking about!)

But that's not necessarily a bad thing: lots of people enjoy said dramas, right? Wouldn't the story appeal to a similar audience? Which brings me to the second thing that put me off about this book:

I love South Asian literature, and so I tend to read a lot of it. I feel like there are two kinds of books within the genre. There are the books that seamlessly weave cultural details into the narrative, and then there are the ones that try to be so accessible that the author ends up writing not just a story, but a guidebook. Both sorts can be enjoyable when executed nicely, although I quite obviously have a preference for the former, or a nice balance of both. Haunting Bombay was the latter to an excessive degree.

For example: I think it's probably enough to say that a character ordered paan from a street stall, and maybe a brief description of what it is or what it tastes like. Bas. Did we really have to be taken through the entire paan-making process? The paan scene also included a description of what supari is, but later on when a character was chewing supari, it was explained yet again. A detailed description was provided every single time any sort of Indian food was mentioned, which got extremely tedious because food was mentioned constantly.

Geographical details were often similarly tedious, and sometimes even totally unnecessary. There was a moment when I actually laughed out loud as a character drove "to Churchgate Station on Churchgate Street." Really? Churchgate Station on Churchgate Street? Tell me more. I can understand that a book titled "Haunting Bombay" ought to be as much about Bombay as it is about haunting, but the constant name-dropping of neighborhoods and locations felt superfluous. Funnily enough, even with all the guidebook moments I hardly got a feel for the city at all — although I can now confidently tell you which street Churchgate Station is on.

Moving on to the things I did enjoy: I really liked the theme of an old injustice being righted, as well as the observations on sexism/classism/nationalism that pervaded many of the characters' histories and motivations. Some of the scary bits were excellently scary; some of the comedic bits were quite funny. ("Vechi nakh!" "Sala, tu tari ma ne vechi nakh!") The importance of stories — telling stories, sharing stories, communicating through stories — was another theme that I enjoyed, probably the most out of anything in the book. The eldest son expressed his feelings by selecting choice passages from books to read aloud; the grandmother often communicated her feelings through devotional stories and prayers; the ghost who started it all was, in the end, just someone who wanted her story brought to light.

So maybe if parts of your childhood weren't set against a backdrop of predictable soap operas at your relatives' houses, this book might be an entirely different experience. The character archetypes that seem tired and stale to me might seem less familiar to you, or maybe that familiarity is something you'll enjoy. The guidebook moments may well be as informative to you as they were tedious for me. This wasn't an awful book by any means, but as I said, it just wasn't for me. If I've done it an injustice with this review, well, I hope a six-toed ghost maid doesn't show up at my place. I'll practice my dramatic reaction faces just in case.(less)

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May 20, 2012 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book engaged me, but it also drove me batty. In 1960 Bombay, thirteen-year-old Pinky Mittal unlocks a forbidden room in her family’s home, unleashing a ghost and forcing her family to face events that occurred thirteen years before. Descriptions weigh down the narrative, going well beyond what is needed to describe life in Bombay to a Western audience. It’s so detailed that it seems almost patronizing, and several times I found myself thinking, ‘Yes, I get it, it’s a different culture, now...more

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Oct 08, 2009 Serena rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shilpa Agarwal's Haunting Bombay immerses readers in a deeply saturated drama and literary ghost story reminiscent of the Bollywood films the Mittal family's driver Gulu adapts into his own adventures. Set in Bombay, India, the story spans two decades from the end of World War II into the 1960s.

Each member of the Mittal family is vivid from the main protagonist Pinky, a thirteen-year-old girl uncomfortable with her place in the family and grandmother Maji, who keeps the family unit running smoot...more Shilpa Agarwal's Haunting Bombay immerses readers in a deeply saturated drama and literary ghost story reminiscent of the Bollywood films the Mittal family's driver Gulu adapts into his own adventures. Set in Bombay, India, the story spans two decades from the end of World War II into the 1960s.

Each member of the Mittal family is vivid from the main protagonist Pinky, a thirteen-year-old girl uncomfortable with her place in the family and grandmother Maji, who keeps the family unit running smoothly and keeps all of its secrets secure to self-centered Savita, Maji's daughter-in-law bent on driving Pinky out and her seventeen-year-old son Nimish, who always has his head in a book and is too timid to talk to the girl he has a crush on.

"Pinky dreamt she was drowning. She felt herself being pushed down into water, down, down, down until her lungs began to burst. The only way out was to push her head farther in, to stop thrashing, to trust that she would not die. But each time she grew afraid, each time she thrashed. Each time she startled awake just as she was about to pass out." (Page 111)

Pinky's mother dies during the partition of India, forcing her to become a refugee, but Maji takes her granddaughter into her bungalow, along with her son, his wife, and their three boys. The mystery of the bolted bathroom door at night is resolved when Pinky in a fit of frustration unbolts the door. Haunting Bombay is about the secrets buried within a family and the ghosts tied to those secrets until they burst through the bathroom door.

"Here it was, proof that she had once inhabited this place at the world's rim, before she had begun to bleed, before the women had gathered, their salty voices crooning the ancient tale of the menstruating girl who caused the waves to turn blood-red and sea snakes to infest the waters." (Page 4)

Agarwal's poetic language is like a siren song, pulling the reader into the Mittal family's struggles with one another. With the start of the monsoon season accompanied by the heavy rains, the ghost grows more powerful and the drama more turbulent. Readers looking for a ghost story will get more than they bargained for with Haunting Bombay. It's a ghost story, mystery, and historical novel carefully crafted to hypnotize the reader.(less)

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Apr 15, 2009 Dree rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2009-reads, south-asia

Excellent book with fabulous descriptions of life in 1960s Bombay (India). This book follows the lives of the Mittal family and their servants--largely their present, but with very important insights into their pasts. And woven in is a ghost (spirit) story. I found the descriptions of the lives of women in various stages of their lives/from various walks of life to be fascinating (girl, young unmarried woman, young married woman, married woman, widow, married servant, unmarried servant) to be fa...more

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Aug 07, 2010 Kalyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wasn't as astounded by this book as some of the cover blurbs were, but I did enjoy it. The ghost story was not as central as I expected, but the stories of the other characters were more interesting anyway. The book's best moments are those where it explores themes common to all times and places - children rebelling against parents, young love, revenge, shame, acceptance, and seeking love. The descriptions are well done. I could nearly feel the oppressive heat and then the pouring rain of the...more

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Oct 23, 2011 Aspasia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries

This story had a confusing prologue and was slow to get started, but after the first few chapters the story sucked me in. Pinky Mittal has been raised by her grandmother since she was an infant. She lives with her grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins in an old English bungalow in Bombay during the 1960s. Superstition haunts (pardon the pun) this affluent family: the bathroom door is bolted every night and the children are forbidden to ask why. As Pinky nears the beginning of puberty she starts...more

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May 18, 2011 Wendy K rated it 3 of 5 stars

"Almost done with this but slightly disappointed - although the writing is nearly perfect, there are some misplaced flashbacks among the characters, longer than needed descriptions, and confusing details of the intense moments in the story. I wanted more haunting and less soap opera activity (too many characters and history). But Shilpa is a master as setting a backdrop and creating emotion. I hope to see more by her since this is her(?) debut book.

Update: Still a little confusing at the end - t...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Diane rated it 5 of 5 stars

"After her mother’s death crossing the border from Pakistan to India during Partition, baby Pinky was taken in by her grandmother, Maji, the matriarch of the powerful Mittal family. Now thirteen years old, Pinky lives with her grandmother and her uncle’s family in a bungalow on the Malabar Heights in Bombay. While she has never really been accepted by her uncle’s family, she has always had Maji’s love.

One day, as monsoons engulf the city, Pinky opens a mysteriously bolted door, unleashing the gh...more

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Sep 17, 2012 Vonn New rated it 3 of 5 stars

Once in a while, I will walk through the library and just pick up a book because I like the cover. That's how I brought home Haunting Bombay. I don't generally like ghost stories, but I often am intrigued by English language literature written by Indian authors. The writing was quite good and the descriptions of life in Bombay were brought to life by the colors, flavors, and monsoon that are almost like characters in this book. I did not find the ending as surprising or shocking as many other re...more

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Nov 15, 2010 Jodi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: india

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. It's very well written. I don't normally go in for anything paranormal but this book is different. It shows the some of the superstitions in Indian culture about spirits and ghosts.
About a quarter of the way in the book had me hooked and I couldn’t put it down.
What I enjoy about Indian English literature is that most novels don’t wrap things up in a cute little, happy every after, bow in the end. The good ones always stay with me a while and have me...more

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Jul 23, 2009 Amandajane13 rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book- it kept me riveted to the end. It isn't the easiest of reads because Agarwal takes the time to fully envelop the reader into Bombay by describing in-depth the food, houses, and other details. However, the plot kept me going and I came to love the descriptions and felt as if I was there. Wonderful...and despite I say that it wasn't the easiest read, I still managed it in a day.So, give it a try!

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Dec 04, 2011 Luaunna rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was an excellent read. I believe the secret to the success of this story was the pacing, it unfolds over its 350 some odd pages but doesn't stall anywhere. The paranormal aspect is not overdone, which I was worried about.
As a reader of south asian fiction, this story keys in on many of the nuances of the culture without, necessarily, being depressing. The power struggles, the corruption, lack of empathy, importance of status, the precarious position of children with no parent, and the serv...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Ken rated it 5 of 5 stars

Haunting Bombay is one of those novels that grows on you as you keep reading. At all times, though, it's a masterpiece of literary fiction. Rich, detailed descriptions do justice to the setting and history of the city, and there's no shortage of references to food--my favorite nostalgia-evoking parts of Indian novels. The characters were realistic and well developed. The blend of literary fiction, mystery, and paranormal worked surprisingly well. Definitely worth reading.

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Jun 18, 2009 Judy rated it 2 of 5 stars

I guess I was expecting something else - a scary ghost story with lots of suspense. This was more about a dysfunctional family in India and their dysfunctional neighbors, with a ghost thrown in that wasn't particularly scary. Again, this shows how a publisher tries to market a book for a mass audience by giving you a different impression just so you'll crack open the book.

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Jul 04, 2009 AK rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was intrigued by this book mostly because of all my travels in Mumbai. It was nice understanding all the Indian references and being familiar with the locations. That being said, I think that if it took place anywhere else it would have been kind of boring. The story was interesting but never truly compelling. The characters were interesting, but for the most part, 2 dimensional.

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Nov 28, 2011 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a terrific book about life, normal and otherwise, in 1960 India. Most people would never have any idea how life was lived there and it is interesting to find how superstition plays such a powerful role in day to day happenings.The characters are intriguing, very real.

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Nov 08, 2010 AKJ rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book had me shaking in my boots! Really, there were times in the book I had to put it down not becasue it was such a thriller but the author had such detailed story telling that I imagine myself in the story. The ending had an interesting twist.

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May 04, 2009 Hope Baugh rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this fascinating and richly detailed ghost story set in India. I didn't give it five stars because for me, it went on just a bit too long, and the number of typo's was annoying. However, I would definitely call this a "good read."

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Dec 01, 2010 Jenifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

The fact that it took me longer to read is not a critique of this book. It is a well- written and engrossing tale of a family in 1960s India who are haunted by a tiny - but revengeful - ghost. But maybe worse than the ghost is the lies, lost love and other secrets inside their bungalow. The author subtly and expertly weaves in information that will be needed further along in the story. The ending was very satisfying while not completely shocking.

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Dec 28, 2009 Mary Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Just picked this up and I'm really enjoying it. A bit of an unusual take on the traditional ghost story. I always like books set in india so this is perfect for me. A little sensational, but heck it's a ghosty tale!

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Jun 14, 2009 Elisa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Though her depiction of 1950s Bombay is a rich tapestry woven together wtih colorful characters, several of the revelations at the end of the novel seem off-hand and ultmately meaningless for the character's futures.

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Jan 05, 2010 Trudi rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not a favorite of mine. Although I always enjoy reading about India, the emphasis in this book on ghosts put me off. Although it has interesting characters and setting, I didn't like the ghost aspect.

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Aug 16, 2009 Judy rated it 5 of 5 stars

The best book I've read this summer. It is the captivating story of Pinky and her extended family and the tragedies that happen as a result of secrets kept. Beautifully written.

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Nov 19, 2012 Ratforce added it

Shelves: fantasy, magical-realism, india

This novel is set in Bombay and highlights the people and customs of India. It also includes a magical-realism style that, because you are a fan of fantasy, may appeal to you.

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May 18, 2010 Catherine Siemann rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shilpa Agrawal's debut novel, which incorporates a ghost story into a Bombay family saga, is atmospheric and well-written, with well-drawn characters and a twist ending that is, in retrospect, well foreshadowed.

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May 17, 2012 Cynthia Fry rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book was a little challenging due to the ethnic and cultural differences. It's very interesting to me how they handled superstition and belief. The characters all go through their own transformations. The ending is suprising at first, but makes sense in the theme of the book.

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Jan 26, 2010 Angela Joyce rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: general-fiction

Shudderingly scary and exciting. Could not budge until I finished it. If I keep reading books like this, I'll never get any work done. It's terrible (my addiction to fiction about India, not the book itself!).

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About Shilpa Agarwal

Shilpa Agarwal is a Los Angeles-based writer and academic. Born in Mumbai to a family uprooted by India's Independence movement and made refugees by its subsequent Partition, Shilpa's early writings explored how colonialism and the chaos of dislocation shaped human interaction.

As an undergraduate at Duke University, Shilpa specialized in Asian and African literatures and Women's Studies. She pursu...more

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“If only certain things had been preventable, his life would have unfurled in front of him as intended, like a lush Oriental carpet. No surprises, no detours. Just a thick tapestry of days and nights that at the end of his time on earth, he could roll up and proudly claim as his own.” — 3 people liked it

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