A Burning by Megha Majumdar

 

Megha Mazumdar’s brilliant debut is a reflection of the difficult times we are living in. Her intriguing work brings together stories of people from different walks of life and how present day prejudices put forth new challenges in front of them. In her book, we meet the aspirational Jivan. Jivan, a young Muslim woman believes that her work at Pantaloons will help her escape the clutches of poverty. She hopes for upliftment, for emancipation. She is also someone who is aware of the happenings around her and is active on social media. In her zeal to sound uptodate and in all innocence, she critiques the government for mishandling a tragic incident of train burning. However after her comment on social media, she is accused of helping in the execution of that very attack.

 

Very soon Jivan’s life takes difficult turns. Very soon she is the dangerous terrorist with whom no one wants to associate. We also meet PT who was Jivan’s ex teacher and saw a lot of potential in her. But his own political aspirations and association with a right wing party meant he had to sacrifice Jivan’s life at the altar of his career. PT made a life of giving false witnesses in the cases helping the right wing party. While PT knew full well of Jivan’s innocence, he chose his own benefit.

 

We also meet Lovely, a transgender, who was an important alibi for Jivan. Lovely also has her own dreams and hopes. Often providing humorous anecdotes in this otherwise grim story, Lovely brings all the drama that the story needs. She is the aspirational actor who believes acting will elevate her. Her effort to perfectly sing and dance and act gives an endearing account of Lovely. But given a choice, she also chooses her own budding acting career and does not associate with Jivan.

 

Written in a very lucid way, the book touches on almost all aspects of our contemporary times. The biases against minority, the dismissal of sexual minorities, the prejudice of the larger community and also the aspirations of the poor are reflected beautifully and adequately in the book. The Burning initially brings to mind the Godhra incident. But the author while dealing with a similar incident brings forth the nuances beautifully. The book ends on a rather realistic note than just providing flimsy endings.

 

But apart from the socio-political faultlines that the story unveils, it also reflects on a fast paced individualistic society which prioritises the need of the individual rather than upholding moral values or doing the right thing. This book will leave the reader with a lot of food for thought. It is a brave debut to say the least.