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The Light of His Clan
Kuldeep Chandanth, ex-Minister of the Government of Sikkim, leading light of his community, and foul-mouthed, caste-obsessed, ageing patriarch, is in the final siege of his illustrious life.
His clanspeople are helping him in his lifelong efforts to uplift them by opposing his every suggestion, and his three children have refused the responsibility of carrying forward his life’s work. Pradeep, his eldest son—from his second wife—is a feckless engineer with the Department of Village Roads. Pradeep is determined to protect the honour of his department’s lady clerks from the attentions of his half- brother Yograj, a ladies’ man committed to his pleasures. Yogita, the ex-Minister’s only daughter, works in Delhi, and is eternally on the verge of returning to Sikkim to look after him. His servant Pemba is dedicated in his attempts to feel up Ai Doma, the momo-seller who lives next door. And just as the ex-Minister gives up hope from the living, the ghost of his third wife, Sumitra, dead for twenty years, returns to point an accusing finger at him.
Set in Gangtok, The Light of His Clan follows—over days of hail, rain, mist and sun—the ex-Minister as he navigates the treachery of those once close to him, schemes for and against his children, and battles the final stiffening of his bones.
His clanspeople are helping him in his lifelong efforts to uplift them by opposing his every suggestion, and his three children have refused the responsibility of carrying forward his life’s work. Pradeep, his eldest son—from his second wife—is a feckless engineer with the Department of Village Roads. Pradeep is determined to protect the honour of his department’s lady clerks from the attentions of his half- brother Yograj, a ladies’ man committed to his pleasures. Yogita, the ex-Minister’s only daughter, works in Delhi, and is eternally on the verge of returning to Sikkim to look after him. His servant Pemba is dedicated in his attempts to feel up Ai Doma, the momo-seller who lives next door. And just as the ex-Minister gives up hope from the living, the ghost of his third wife, Sumitra, dead for twenty years, returns to point an accusing finger at him.
Set in Gangtok, The Light of His Clan follows—over days of hail, rain, mist and sun—the ex-Minister as he navigates the treachery of those once close to him, schemes for and against his children, and battles the final stiffening of his bones.
266 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 9, 2017
I laughed, I pondered.
People in Pradeep’s office, these people, they are real and I dread dealing with them.
Yograj’s contract money - I squealed with delight, my brother visits this “office” almost every day running from one person to another.
The mundane life of Pradeep, his wife and their house.
I smiled reading the scene where Yogita is smoking somewhere in Gangtok bazaar and Kuldeep is looking around nervously to ensure that no one sees them(him).
The reliable Nima Thendup, the good guy in every family.
The Ex Minister’s illustrious past, his dwindling today. Throughout the author has manifested the struggle that an old person endures, this is a harsh reality for all of us, so much so, that, it makes one reflect (at least me). He along with his dreams ends with “sandalwood”.
Few whimsical things like “ I will network you face”, the name “ Toksing”, “hiphops” , “Sant Pradeep” stayed with me.
Yogita knew why Pemba died, I hope I have that interpreted correctly and I wish I alsp knew the reason.
These characters with different perspectives come together to make this story whole. The author is successful in capturing the caricatures of people that we meet and see every day. He also allowed me to visualize Gangtok though his writings and strangely the description of surroundings around the burial ground felt like distant calling from home. Food is an important part of our culture and the author has subtly depicted this via his book. I liked the lucidity of the language which made it effortless for the readers. I savored this book thoroughly.
By the way, I did not know “shishnu” is called nettle, had to google it
People in Pradeep’s office, these people, they are real and I dread dealing with them.
Yograj’s contract money - I squealed with delight, my brother visits this “office” almost every day running from one person to another.
The mundane life of Pradeep, his wife and their house.
I smiled reading the scene where Yogita is smoking somewhere in Gangtok bazaar and Kuldeep is looking around nervously to ensure that no one sees them(him).
The reliable Nima Thendup, the good guy in every family.
The Ex Minister’s illustrious past, his dwindling today. Throughout the author has manifested the struggle that an old person endures, this is a harsh reality for all of us, so much so, that, it makes one reflect (at least me). He along with his dreams ends with “sandalwood”.
Few whimsical things like “ I will network you face”, the name “ Toksing”, “hiphops” , “Sant Pradeep” stayed with me.
Yogita knew why Pemba died, I hope I have that interpreted correctly and I wish I alsp knew the reason.
These characters with different perspectives come together to make this story whole. The author is successful in capturing the caricatures of people that we meet and see every day. He also allowed me to visualize Gangtok though his writings and strangely the description of surroundings around the burial ground felt like distant calling from home. Food is an important part of our culture and the author has subtly depicted this via his book. I liked the lucidity of the language which made it effortless for the readers. I savored this book thoroughly.
By the way, I did not know “shishnu” is called nettle, had to google it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2016
I was blessed with the privilege of attending book launch of this book. I had the fortune of interacting with Chetan Raj Shrestha who gave us a brilliant debut book in ‘The King’s Harvest’. I was floored by the fact that despite being a recipient of a prestigious award for his debut novel – The Tata Live Literature Award – Chetan Daju was very down-to-earth and supportive. He even bought a copy of my book which was a pleasantly surprising gesture and it heightened my respect for him.
However, lets get down to business. As far as his second novel is concerned, when I read the blurb, I was sure that a point would come when I would get bored by the book. It’s my fault, actually, I have zero interest in politics and the protagonist of the book is an ex-Minister. Yet, I thought of giving it a read as the plot, apart from the politics part, seemed intriguing. I really liked the first half of the book; the interesting interactions of the ex-Minister with Sumati AE, I laughed out loud at some hilarious jokes – ‘Saala Haraami’ – ‘same to you’ part, etc. The ex-Minister seemed a strong character, and I felt something interesting would transpire in the second half. I was also looking forward to the possession of the servant by the ex-Minister’s wife, which I thought will be hilarious as well as emotional.
But, I’m really sorry to say, I was disappointed. The plot doesn’t go anywhere. It becomes quite boring. The excitement pertaining to the slow moving government bill fizzles out too soon – it had real potential to be intriguing. The conversations and politics regarding the temple etc. and the caste related stuff bored me (maybe it could be just me as I don’t like politics). The members of the CAS Society are too many for my liking and I failed to connect with most of them. The characters, Yograj and Pradeep SE turned out to be irritating and selfish. I hated them. Yogita was just ok. Dr. Kuldeep was the only character I liked. Even the ex-Minister’s stubbornness and lack of power I didn’t like. The ending is also plain and predictable and boring, and the way Yograj and Pradeep SE behave at the end is pathetic (especially the fondling part with a female character which was nauseating). The possession part was alright but it didn’t possess the emotional depth I had expected. Towards the end I was just flipping through the pages, waiting for it to get over. This book is emotionless and cold. In both the novellas of the first book there were WOW moments like the fight between the man and woman before he is cut to shreds by her and the emotion of the villager as he returns to Gangtok after an eternity and many more which I can’t remember. But ‘The Light of His Clan’ falls short in emotional depth by some way. I’m sorry, Daju, but I think I had to be honest with this.
However, only two things glued me to the book.
One – the impeccable language. The way he constructs sentences is magical, to say the least. I would rate this book very high in terms of the brilliant language and writing style.
Two – The beautiful way he describes the unpredictable weather and surroundings of Gangtok. He carries on from the previous book – which also had similar exceptional descriptions – and does a phenomenal job.
Maybe because of my limited intelligence about politics, I didn’t quite like the plot. The characters also lacked depth and were irritating. Thus, a bit of a letdown. Yet, the marvelous, poetic language and writing style forces me to give this 3.4 stars. Despite the lackluster plot (just my opinion) and unlikable characters, it is recommended to fans of literary fiction and those who love to read well-written books.
However, lets get down to business. As far as his second novel is concerned, when I read the blurb, I was sure that a point would come when I would get bored by the book. It’s my fault, actually, I have zero interest in politics and the protagonist of the book is an ex-Minister. Yet, I thought of giving it a read as the plot, apart from the politics part, seemed intriguing. I really liked the first half of the book; the interesting interactions of the ex-Minister with Sumati AE, I laughed out loud at some hilarious jokes – ‘Saala Haraami’ – ‘same to you’ part, etc. The ex-Minister seemed a strong character, and I felt something interesting would transpire in the second half. I was also looking forward to the possession of the servant by the ex-Minister’s wife, which I thought will be hilarious as well as emotional.
But, I’m really sorry to say, I was disappointed. The plot doesn’t go anywhere. It becomes quite boring. The excitement pertaining to the slow moving government bill fizzles out too soon – it had real potential to be intriguing. The conversations and politics regarding the temple etc. and the caste related stuff bored me (maybe it could be just me as I don’t like politics). The members of the CAS Society are too many for my liking and I failed to connect with most of them. The characters, Yograj and Pradeep SE turned out to be irritating and selfish. I hated them. Yogita was just ok. Dr. Kuldeep was the only character I liked. Even the ex-Minister’s stubbornness and lack of power I didn’t like. The ending is also plain and predictable and boring, and the way Yograj and Pradeep SE behave at the end is pathetic (especially the fondling part with a female character which was nauseating). The possession part was alright but it didn’t possess the emotional depth I had expected. Towards the end I was just flipping through the pages, waiting for it to get over. This book is emotionless and cold. In both the novellas of the first book there were WOW moments like the fight between the man and woman before he is cut to shreds by her and the emotion of the villager as he returns to Gangtok after an eternity and many more which I can’t remember. But ‘The Light of His Clan’ falls short in emotional depth by some way. I’m sorry, Daju, but I think I had to be honest with this.
However, only two things glued me to the book.
One – the impeccable language. The way he constructs sentences is magical, to say the least. I would rate this book very high in terms of the brilliant language and writing style.
Two – The beautiful way he describes the unpredictable weather and surroundings of Gangtok. He carries on from the previous book – which also had similar exceptional descriptions – and does a phenomenal job.
Maybe because of my limited intelligence about politics, I didn’t quite like the plot. The characters also lacked depth and were irritating. Thus, a bit of a letdown. Yet, the marvelous, poetic language and writing style forces me to give this 3.4 stars. Despite the lackluster plot (just my opinion) and unlikable characters, it is recommended to fans of literary fiction and those who love to read well-written books.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews