The Great Indian Novel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Author | Shashi Tharoor |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Roman à clef, Satirical, Historical novel |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Released | 24 August 1989 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 384 (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-670-82744-4 (first edition, hardback) |
| Followed by | Show Business (1992) |
The Great Indian Novel is a satirical novel by Shashi Tharoor.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
It is a fictional work that takes the story of the Mahabharata, the epic of Indian mythology, and recasts and resets it in the context of the Indian Independence Movement. Figures from Indian history are transformed into characters from mythology, and the mythical story of India is retold as a history of Indian independence and subsequent history, up through the 1980s.
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
The phrase "great Indian novel" is a rough translation of "Mahabharata" (maha "great"; Bharata "India").
[edit] Plot summary
[edit] Characters in "The Great Indian Novel"
Figures from history and characters from the Mahabharata can be directly correlated to characters in the book or to more general allegorical references:
| Character from the Novel | Mahabharata Character | Historical Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Ved Vyas, the narrator | Vyasa, father of Dhritarashtra and Pandu | C.Rajagopalachari |
| Ganapathi | Ganesh | |
| Ganga Datta (Gangaji), a celibate spiritual leader | Bhishma (Devavrata), celibate son of Shantanu and the river Ganga | Mahatma Gandhi ("Gandhiji"), spiritual leader of the independence movement, who advocated celibacy |
| Dhritarashtra | Dhritarashtra, the blind king | Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, often termed a blind idealist |
| Lady Georgina Drewpad | Edwina Mountbatten, wife of the viceroy, Lord Louis Mountbatten | |
| Pandu | Pandu, brother of Dhritarashtra | Shubhash Chandra Bose |
| Yudhishtir | Yudhishtira, eldest son of the five sons of Pandu (the Pandavas), who embodies the concept of dharma, justice, honesty, virtue | Morarji Desai, the fourth prime minister |
| Priya Duryodhani, the autocratic villain | Duryodhana, eldest of Dhritarashtra's 100 sons, leader of the Kauravas | Indira Gandhi, daughter of Nehru, and third prime minister |
| Mohammad A. H. Karna, the father of Karnistan | Karna | Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the father of Pakistan |
| Jayaprakash Drona | Drona | Jayaprakash Narayan; |
| Draupadi Mokrasi ("Di Mokrasi"), illegitimate daughter of Dhritarashtra and Lady Drewpad, and wife to all five Pandavas | Draupadi, wife to all five Pandavas | democracy |
| Bhim | Bhima, third son of Pandu, who embodies the concept of brute strength | The Indian Army |
| Lord Drewpad | Drupad, the Raja of Panchala | Lord Mountbatten |
| Gandhari the Grim | Gandhari, Dritarasthra's long suffering wife | Kamala Nehru |
| Shakuni Shankar Ray | Shakuni, Gandhari's wily brother | Siddhartha Shankar Ray |
| Shishupal | Shishupal, Madri's brother | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| Gaga Shah | Aga Khan, nobleman and imam of the Ismailis |
[edit] Major themes
[edit] Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
Certain places and events in the novel can also be correlated to real places
| Place in the Novel | Actual Place |
|---|---|
| Laslut | Lahore |
| Gelabin | Bengal |
| Manimir | Kashmir |
| Karnistan ("The Hacked Off Land") | Pakistan ("The Land of the Pure") |
| Great Mango March | Gandhi's Great Salt March |
[edit] Release details
- 1989, India, Viking Press (ISBN 0-670-82744-4), Pub date 24 August 1989, hardback (First edition)
- 1990, India, Penguin Books (ISBN 0-14-012049-1), Pub date 26 July 1990, paperback
- 1991, UK, Arcade (ISBN 1-55970-116-1), Pub date ? April 1991, hardback
- 1993, UK, Arcade (ISBN 1-55970-194-3), Pub date ? April 1993, paperback
- 1994, UK, Picador (ISBN 0-330-33490-5), Pub date 20 May 1994, paperback
