Dust Dancers-Sarthak Paliwal

Book: Dust Dancers
Author: Sarthak Paliwal
Publisher: Kalamos Literary Services

Do you think that the truth can change your life?

What happens after a performance ends? Do the characters seize to exist the moment curtains are drawn and the audience leaves? Or is that a point where a different story begins? This is the story of characters behind that curtain. Six people. Six different stories, pasts and lives. Yet, there is something that connects all of them – an emotion. A powerful one. Fear. In the town of Jodhpur, Rajasthan, a traditional dance group is being formed. Its members are dancers and singers, and more than that, they are dreamers, philosophers, romantics, runaways, heartbroken, hopeless and a lot more. Meet Ustaad, Daka Singh, Mitha Lal, Vidushi, Anahita and Gora Dev and see with them, what choices they make and what stories they have to tell you. An inspiring tale of being hopeful and courageous when all seems lost.

Dust Dancers is an interesting story that explores the idea of family, self-identity and the social obligations that one has. The plot of the book explores the stories of six people who are across age groups and social strata. Sarthak takes up the idea of following one’s dream as a central plot and then shows it through the lens of his six characters and their intersections produce a wonderful story. The idea to structure the book like a stage performance ties in with the overall concept. What didn’t work for me was the fact that the six stories seemed to be disjointed at times and while events were happening, the coherence was missing, which can easily be corrected through a round of detailed editing. Another aspect the book missed was that the timeline of the characters’ stories wasn’t clear and hence the connections couldn’t be easily made. The story’s idea was to explore the life of the people in a dance group, however the dance group itself does not feature much in the book. The climax is interesting; however, I would have loved if it was a tad bit more polished.

Coming to the characters in the story, each of the six characters has been sketched nicely. I loved the fact that each of them had a back story and how that tied up to the overall plot. The stories were told at the opportune time and that helped push the plot ahead. I liked the character of Daka Singh and how his story shapes him and his part in the story. I felt that Mitha Lal’s character could have been fleshed out a bit more which would have added a bit more of flesh to the story.

Overall, it is a decent book that explores a complex story. The book stores a 4/5 for me.

I was provided a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

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