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Half-Blood
You see, Moonie, I did a terrible thing for which I had to leave Bombay. I don’t want to burden you, in this letter, with the details of my deed?or my life. It’s a long story and I’m not a man of words.’
It is 2009, more than a decade after Maya read this intriguing letter addressed to her. The awkward, adopted child of an odd Bengali couple, she’s now a 34-year-old journalist in an existential mess that she alleviates by smoking pot and going on long walks with her latest boyfriend. But in order to find the meaning she craves, Maya must confront her past, and open a box of objects she inherited. When she finally does, she’s led on a startling, sparkling journey of discovery.
At the centre of this journey is Burjor Elavia, a ‘fifty-fifty’, an ‘Adhkachru’?the illegitimate child of a Parsi man and a tribal woman?born in a nondescript village in Gujarat. In 1952, not yet eighteen, he made his way to Bombay, where he lived a colourful life?promiscuous, reckless, involved in a string of shady businesses, but also compassionate and a charmer. His greatest achievement was an audacious venture for fifty-fifty Parsis like himself, many of them strugglers, some of them on the make and all of them eccentric. In their tangled, mixed-up, funny life stories, Maya tries to find her beginnings?and maybe her future.
Set in the teeming, varied universe that is Bombay, Half-Blood is an entertaining, full-blooded novel about dysfunctional families, plucky survivors, chancers, mavericks and good-hearted rogues. A celebration of vitality, impurity and other true virtues of life, it is a marvellous debut.
It is 2009, more than a decade after Maya read this intriguing letter addressed to her. The awkward, adopted child of an odd Bengali couple, she’s now a 34-year-old journalist in an existential mess that she alleviates by smoking pot and going on long walks with her latest boyfriend. But in order to find the meaning she craves, Maya must confront her past, and open a box of objects she inherited. When she finally does, she’s led on a startling, sparkling journey of discovery.
At the centre of this journey is Burjor Elavia, a ‘fifty-fifty’, an ‘Adhkachru’?the illegitimate child of a Parsi man and a tribal woman?born in a nondescript village in Gujarat. In 1952, not yet eighteen, he made his way to Bombay, where he lived a colourful life?promiscuous, reckless, involved in a string of shady businesses, but also compassionate and a charmer. His greatest achievement was an audacious venture for fifty-fifty Parsis like himself, many of them strugglers, some of them on the make and all of them eccentric. In their tangled, mixed-up, funny life stories, Maya tries to find her beginnings?and maybe her future.
Set in the teeming, varied universe that is Bombay, Half-Blood is an entertaining, full-blooded novel about dysfunctional families, plucky survivors, chancers, mavericks and good-hearted rogues. A celebration of vitality, impurity and other true virtues of life, it is a marvellous debut.
- GenresIndia
272 pages, Paperback
Published March 15, 2022
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 11, 2023
Maya Deb is not a Deb. She's three-quarters Parsi, with a half-Parsi father named Burjor Elavia. Burjor's story is what gives the novel its title; it is a story that Maya begins to unearth in her adulthood, after her now-mother Mini's revelation that she was adopted.
Half-blood is truly a Bombay novel (and in that, too, a decidedly South Bombay one). Datta has the required description repertoire when it comes to food and city-spaces and outfits. And for a novel that relies on conversations, the dialogue is mostly on point.
The blurb claims that there is something being said here about vitality and impurity. I didn't see it; rather, I saw only suggestions. The novel frequently dips into stereotypes for its interesting bits. In the opening chapters, eg., we meet a Bengali family that is stereotypically Bengali, with a focus on food and bowel movements. Maya's education in Delhi exposes her to caste, but not much is made of it subsequently (it's funny how Bombay likes to maintain that it only learns of caste when it interfaces with Delhi). The novel definitely does not challenge any orthodoxy in clear terms (except the institution of marriage and the idea of monogamy). Parsi orthodoxy is repeatedly pointed at as a bad thing, but no clear attempt is made to make Burjor's specific travails with it acquire a universal colour.
A Kierkegaard reader, Maya knows that she must live her life forwards and understand it backwards. But apropos Maya's personal life, any derivations of meaning from her father's story stay mystical for the reader (except the Kierkegaardian imperative to take a leap of faith, which doesn't really have a clear connection with the father).
To make a personal theory of the novel, it is perhaps better to read novels that aren't outright successes. From 'Half-blood', I learnt about the immediacy of 'event'. In a novel that settles into two timelines - Maya's and Burjor's, eg. - the more recent timeline must carry greater impetus of event. Here, it is Burjor's story where things happen, but that story is distant from us. Datta seems conscious of this, which is why Maya's timeline is often populated with characters and events from her work life, a decision that leads to mixed results. Maya's romantic/sexual confusion doesn't ever read as something the narrative is interested in.
I wondered if a genre scaffolding - whether romance, in which Maya's love life became a more prominent running theme; or mystery, in which the unearthing of Burjor's life story became a bit of a detective story - might have helped the novel.
Half-blood is a debut of merit, even if a tentative one. One hopes that Datta's obvious writing strengths find a more robust, reader-savvy story the next time.
Half-blood is truly a Bombay novel (and in that, too, a decidedly South Bombay one). Datta has the required description repertoire when it comes to food and city-spaces and outfits. And for a novel that relies on conversations, the dialogue is mostly on point.
The blurb claims that there is something being said here about vitality and impurity. I didn't see it; rather, I saw only suggestions. The novel frequently dips into stereotypes for its interesting bits. In the opening chapters, eg., we meet a Bengali family that is stereotypically Bengali, with a focus on food and bowel movements. Maya's education in Delhi exposes her to caste, but not much is made of it subsequently (it's funny how Bombay likes to maintain that it only learns of caste when it interfaces with Delhi). The novel definitely does not challenge any orthodoxy in clear terms (except the institution of marriage and the idea of monogamy). Parsi orthodoxy is repeatedly pointed at as a bad thing, but no clear attempt is made to make Burjor's specific travails with it acquire a universal colour.
A Kierkegaard reader, Maya knows that she must live her life forwards and understand it backwards. But apropos Maya's personal life, any derivations of meaning from her father's story stay mystical for the reader (except the Kierkegaardian imperative to take a leap of faith, which doesn't really have a clear connection with the father).
To make a personal theory of the novel, it is perhaps better to read novels that aren't outright successes. From 'Half-blood', I learnt about the immediacy of 'event'. In a novel that settles into two timelines - Maya's and Burjor's, eg. - the more recent timeline must carry greater impetus of event. Here, it is Burjor's story where things happen, but that story is distant from us. Datta seems conscious of this, which is why Maya's timeline is often populated with characters and events from her work life, a decision that leads to mixed results. Maya's romantic/sexual confusion doesn't ever read as something the narrative is interested in.
I wondered if a genre scaffolding - whether romance, in which Maya's love life became a more prominent running theme; or mystery, in which the unearthing of Burjor's life story became a bit of a detective story - might have helped the novel.
Half-blood is a debut of merit, even if a tentative one. One hopes that Datta's obvious writing strengths find a more robust, reader-savvy story the next time.
July 17, 2024
I’ve always loved reading fiction that delves deep in history and portrays it’s significance with meaningful prose and this fantastic read does just that and what amazes me is the fact that it’s the author’s very first book!
Pronoti Datta’s novel is an enigma, which turns into a journey of unraveling the past to fill the void of the present. Maya, our protagonist dwells in a habitual state of existentialism for the better part of her adult life until she learns a grave truth about her parental lineage.
Half-Blood is all about finding a purpose, a reason to make sense of the present. A premise deeply rooted in Bombay links itself to the chaotic past of the city that brazenly tumbles the fates of the characters in this story.
Philandering, rebellion and entrepreneurial stints, philanthropy and the need to extinguish the habitual void of a complicated past bring a dynamic character Burjor who is the real creator of this chaotic-ly engrossing story.
If there’s one book that’s promising suspense with epiphanies that join the pieces of a puzzle, it’s this. The plot builds gradually, so patience is the key to leave you contented to experience a pleasant and mature ending.
Pronoti Datta’s novel is an enigma, which turns into a journey of unraveling the past to fill the void of the present. Maya, our protagonist dwells in a habitual state of existentialism for the better part of her adult life until she learns a grave truth about her parental lineage.
Half-Blood is all about finding a purpose, a reason to make sense of the present. A premise deeply rooted in Bombay links itself to the chaotic past of the city that brazenly tumbles the fates of the characters in this story.
Philandering, rebellion and entrepreneurial stints, philanthropy and the need to extinguish the habitual void of a complicated past bring a dynamic character Burjor who is the real creator of this chaotic-ly engrossing story.
If there’s one book that’s promising suspense with epiphanies that join the pieces of a puzzle, it’s this. The plot builds gradually, so patience is the key to leave you contented to experience a pleasant and mature ending.
January 24, 2023
Week 3 book 6
Half blood by Pronoti Dutta
Rating: 3/5
Half Blood is a historical novel based in Mumbai revolving around half blood Parsis-born to Parsi men & tribal women, and a young woman journalist striving to uncover the truth of her biological parents. Good premise, well researched, but laborious language makes it a slow read.
Half blood by Pronoti Dutta
Rating: 3/5
Half Blood is a historical novel based in Mumbai revolving around half blood Parsis-born to Parsi men & tribal women, and a young woman journalist striving to uncover the truth of her biological parents. Good premise, well researched, but laborious language makes it a slow read.
February 13, 2024
It was an anniversary gift to me in 2022.
I don't know why I kept prolonging it - maybe because of the title - expecting it to be some family drama of step siblings.
But, was surprised to see the protagonist who I absolutely relate to as she calls herself "daughter of Bombay"
The book romanticises BOMBAY so well, I kept marking the familiar landmarks :')
Bengali + Parsi mix - adorable
I don't know why I kept prolonging it - maybe because of the title - expecting it to be some family drama of step siblings.
But, was surprised to see the protagonist who I absolutely relate to as she calls herself "daughter of Bombay"
The book romanticises BOMBAY so well, I kept marking the familiar landmarks :')
Bengali + Parsi mix - adorable
June 1, 2022
Entertaining! Wonderful prose! Fun!
October 18, 2023
I loved the rogues gallery of characters, historical references of Bombay , the insights into Parsi stories I was not aware of, and the good humored way the narrator tells her story. Well done!
December 28, 2022
I picked up the book because of the cleverly designed cover showing partial images of Grand Hotel (Bombay), a photo studio, an old watch and a Kaali-Peeli Fiat. The book in itself has a very interesting premise - a parsi girl who grows up bengali and finds out about her errant father much later in life. While I loved the descriptions of Colaba and South Bombay in general, I found something in the book inconsistent which I can't keep my finger on. Nevertheless it is worth reading if you are a bombayphile.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews