Praise for The Henna Artist
“Fantastic, so evocative and beautiful and full of life and light...and deeply satisfying in its storytelling.”
—Leah Franqui, author of America for Beginners
“Read this book slowly and savor it: Every page is rich with intricate pleasures for both the mind and the heart.”
—Anita Amirrezvani, author of The Blood of Flowers
“An entertaining debut about an important theme—balancing family with personal ambition—that allows readers to escape into a fantasy teeming with sensory pleasure.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Vibrant characters, evocative imagery, and sumptuous prose create an unforgettable tale.”
—Christian Science Monitor
“Alka Joshi’s debut novel exposes a society hobbled by a rigid caste system, misogyny, superstition and age-old traditions. The smell of sandalwood, cooking fires, and tropical flowers wafts through it all, but the injustice and poverty are all but inescapable.”
—BookTrib
“Alka Joshi’s debut novel is so evocative, so expressive and so exotic that it leads me to suggest she drop whatever else she is doing and write a second novel—like now.”
—Calgary Herald
“A bold, ambitious, beautifully written novel about India...and about class, identity, love and deceit. The broad cast of characters will etch themselves into your psyche.”
—Tom Barbash, author of Stay Up with Me
Also by Alka Joshi
The Henna Artist
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur
Alka Joshi
For Bradley, who encouraged me to write
For my readers, who fell in love with Malik
Alka Joshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist. Born in India and raised in the United States since the age of nine, she has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of the Arts. She lives in Pacific Grove, California, with her husband. This is her second novel.
Contents
Epigraph
Characters Who Appear
Prologue
Two Months before the Collapse
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
One Month before the Collapse
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Two Days before the Collapse
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
The Collapse
Chapter 17
After the Collapse
All India Radio Bulletin
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
Glossary of Terms
Indian Gold: A Woman’s Retirement Fund
Taking Inspiration from Indian Food
Aloo Gobi Matar Subji
The Maharani Cocktail
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway.
—MOTHER TERESA
If you want the rose, you must put up with the thorn.
—HINDU PROVERB
Be humble for you are made of earth
Be noble for you are made of stars.
—SERBIAN PROVERB
CHARACTERS WHO APPEAR
Malik: 20-year-old former ward of Lakshmi, graduate of Bishop Cotton School for Boys
Nimmi: 23-year-old tribal woman of the Himalayan hills, mother of Rekha (girl) and Chullu (boy)
Lakshmi Kumar: 42-year-old former henna artist, now director of Lady Bradley Healing Garden in Shimla, married to Dr. Jay Kumar
Jay Kumar: physician at Lady Bradley Hospital in Shimla,
director of the Community Clinic, school chum of Samir Singh, married to Lakshmi
Radha: 25-year-old perfumer, Lakshmi’s younger sister, lives in Paris with French architect husband and two daughters; had a baby out of wedlock with Ravi Singh twelve years ago; the baby was adopted by Kanta and Manu Agarwal
Samir Singh: 52-year-old architect and managing director of Singh-Sharma Construction, from a high-caste Rajput family related to the Jaipur royal family, husband of Parvati Singh and father of Ravi and Govind
Parvati Singh: 47-year-old society matron, wife of Samir Singh, mother of Ravi and Govind, distant relation of the Jaipur royal family
Ravi Singh: 29-year-old son of Parvati and Samir, architect in family firm Singh-Sharma Construction, married to Sheela
Sheela Singh: formerly Sheela Sharma, 27-year-old wife of Ravi Singh, mother of two small children, Rita and Baby
Manu Agarwaclass="underline" 38-year-old facilities director for the Jaipur Palace, husband of Kanta
Kanta Agarwaclass="underline" 38-year-old wife of Manu Agarwal, originally from a literary Calcutta family, mother of 12-year-old Niki, or Nikhil
Nikhil Agarwaclass="underline" 12-year-old adopted son of Kanta and Manu; Lakshmi’s sister, Radha, is his birth mother
Baju: an old family servant of Kanta and Manu Agarwal
Saas: means “mother-in-law” in Hindi. When Kanta refers to her saas, she is referring to Manu’s mother, and when addressing a mother-in-law directly, a woman would call her by the respectful “Saasuji.”
The Sharmas: parents of Sheela Singh, co-owners of the Singh-Sharma firm. Mr. Sharma, 80, is infirm. His wife hardly goes anywhere without him. So Samir Singh manages all operations for the company now.
Moti-Laclass="underline" prominent jeweler, owner of Moti-Lal Jewelers of Jaipur
Mohan: Moti-Lal’s son-in-law and assistant at Moti-Lal Jewelers
Hakeem: accountant for the facilities office of the Jaipur Palace
Mr. Reddy: theater manager of the Royal Jewel Cinema
Maharani Indira: 74-year-old dowager queen, childless widow of a former maharaja of Jaipur, mother-in-law of the Maharani Latika, lives in the Maharanis’ Palace
Maharani Latika: 43-year-old glamorous widow of the recently deceased maharaja of Jaipur and daughter-in-law of Maharani Indira, lives in the Maharanis’ Palace, founded the Maharani School for Girls in Jaipur
Madho Singh: Alexandrine parakeet gifted to Malik by Maharani Indira
A glossary of Hindi and French terms is listed in the back.
PROLOGUE
MALIK
May 1969
Jaipur
It’s opening night of the Royal Jewel Cinema, which shines as brilliantly as a gemstone. A thousand lights twinkle in the ceiling of the immense lobby. White marble steps leading to the upper balcony reflect the glow of a hundred wall sconces. A thick crimson carpet hushes the sound of thousands of footsteps. And inside the theater: every one of the eleven hundred mohair seats is occupied. Still more people stand, lining the walls of the theater for the premiere.
This is Ravi Singh’s big moment. As lead architect on the prestigious project, commissioned by the Maharani Latika of Jaipur, the Royal Jewel Cinema stands as a testament to what modern ingenuity and a Western education can create. Ravi Singh has modeled it after the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, eight thousand miles away. For this most celebrated of occasions, Ravi has arranged for the cinema house to show Jewel Thief, a film that was actually released two years ago. A few weeks ago, Ravi told me he picked the popular film because it reflects the name of the cinema house and features two of the most renowned Indian actors of the day. He knows that Indian audiences, crazy for films, are used to seeing the same movie multiple times; most cinemas only change their offerings every few months. So even if Jaipur residents saw the movie two years ago, they’ll come see it again. Ravi also arranged for the film’s stars Dev Anand and Vyjayanthimala, as well as one of the younger actresses, Dipti Kapoor, to be present for the grand opening. The press is also in attendance to write about the opening of the Royal Jewel Cinema, report on all of Jaipur high society in their bejeweled finery and gawk at the Bollywood glitterati.