Silk Route-Sachin Kundalkar (Tr. Aakash Karkare)

Book: Silk Route
Author: Sachin Kundalkar
Translator: Aakash Karkare
Publisher: Penguin India

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

How do you navigate societal expectations when the odds are stacked against you?

Nishikant leads a quiet life, going for long walks around Pune with his older sister, fantasizing about the handsome next-door neighbor and lingering in bookstores while dreaming of being a writer. But when a love affair claims his sister’s life and takes the handsome neighbour far away from him, his middle-class parents pack him off to Mumbai to shield him from the scandal. Through his relationships with Shiv in Mumbai, and later with Sreenivas, in London, Nishikant is able to break apart the shackles his past have placed on him. When Nishikant moves back to Mumbai, he has become a writer and a professor and the only escape from his solitary existence are the long letters he receives from Srinivas, until one day, Sreenivas disappears mysteriously. Silk Route translated from the Marathi Reshim Marg, invites readers to go on a journey along with Nishikant on his many travels through cities and people in a way that has rarely been seen in Indian literature. As the series' first part, the novel lays the groundwork for this expansive narrative journey that questions love, identity, and the false veneer of societal expectations.

Silk route is a book that explores the story of Nishikant and how his life is shaped by the experiences he has. I loved that Sachin uses different aspects of the story to let the story move forward, rather tha just storytelling. We see time pass by through the eyes of different characters, and not just Nishikant, giving an interesting perspective on the story as it proceeds. There is another interesting of the story which is about books and reading. The opening of the book, as well as an extended scene in London directly relates to books and reading, and it shows how books can directly impact a person’s psyche as well as his lifestyle. While the book does focus on LGBTQ representation, it is commendable that Sachin does not make that the highlight for the book, rather it is a fact of how the characters are, and that I believe, is how representation should work. The entire plot about the ashram, amma and the redacted letters, the first part of this series promises to give us an excellent story that is in parts a thriller, partly a drama and partly social commentary. The climax of this book leaves enough room for us to wait for the next book in the series.

Coming to the characters, I loved how Nishikant’s character has been presented. His journey from a Kid to a professor has been wonderfully captured. Sachin pens the life experiences through his own narration as well as through the eyes of the others and his emotions for the people around have been wonderfully captured. Another interesting character was that of Srinivas. The change in his life and lifestyle has been nicely penned. The relationship he had with his family, specially considering his lineage, was the highlight of this section of the book. Apart from these, Jules was another character that did impress me.

Overall, the book is a wonderfully written story of love, personal discovery, and relationships. The book scores a 4.81/5 for me.

Grab a copy of the book on Amazon India or a bookstore near you.