Do we really need to go back to Mughal times for eternal, monogamous love – is a question the reader finds themselves asking when they pick up Sujata Sabnis’ Songs of Stone – set in 17th century Agra.
The story delves into the times of Mughal emperors and their wives, concubines and general indulgences. Sabnis says it’s a moment in history which has always fascinated her.
“I have always been a history buff and have found Mughal period fascinating. But I can't claim that I chose this topic – rather, it chose me.”
Songs of Stone – a story of Muslim woman Nilofer and her Hindu childhood beau, Jagat – starts off when 16-year-old Nilofer, the protagonist, has experienced her first brush with love, making it one of the most important thematic concerns of the book. Love is the one overarching emotion that ties all distinct parts of the story together by the same thread.
Commenting on the choice of topic for her third novel, Sabnis says:
I can’t tell you how terrified I was when I started writing it – this would be the first time I was writing a love story, my earlier two being thrillers. Would I be able to do justice to it? But as I started writing it, something took over – maybe the characters themselves. And they just pulled me along with them, laughing, feeling, plotting, crying, loving.
When asked if she thinks the kind of long-lasting love her novel deals with truly exists in contemporary times, the answer is unequivocally in the affirmative.
It does. Not everywhere, but it does. A love not expressed in the dramatic, flamboyant way, but in a more quiet, subtle, silent way.
However, the story of the two young lovers meets a cruel fate when Nilofer is abducted and taken to Jahangir’s harem. At this juncture – if the reader is looking for an interesting insight into the lives of the Mughal emperors’ concubines – they are unlikely to be let down by Sabnis’ portrayal of the same.
Nilofer’s life in the harem is replete with the most inane and mundane activities; but it is also rich with the tales of conniving courtiers, friendship and loyalty. In fact, the female camaraderie in the novel is definitely one of its key highlights.
It was imperative that my novel should transport my reader to that era and make it come alive for them. I had to get not just the fashion, the food and the lifestyle right, but also the attitude, the ideas, the perspectives of those times. Moreover, my novel dealt with not just kings and queens, but also the life of the common people. And then, of course, there were some delightfully salacious bits of information I came across in my research which I would have LOVED to have included, but prudence demanded I should them leave out.
- Publisher: Amaryllis
- Pages: 352
- Price: Rs 231
Paperback
Songs of Stone has another unspoken, understated stream running throughout the narrative – that of religion.
Religion is important to this story only in the social ambit, not their (Nilofer and Jagat’s) inner space. The duo reiterate throughout the book, in both spoken and unspoken ways, that love is all, and that nothing is holier than love.
One often gets the feeling that perhaps the narrative could have done with fewer words. However, if you’re a romantic looking specifically for a love story full of its various excesses and indulgences, then Songs of Stone is the book you turn to.
This book is bound to evoke a longing for a time (and perhaps a world?) that doesn’t exist – and an inexplicable desire to visit the Taj Mahal. The book may not be for everyone, but if on a quiet Sunday morning, you wish to take a walk down the many alleys of love, both dark and well-lit, Sabnis could just be the writer you pick up.
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