David Davidar – författare

A young man becomes embroiled in a battle against the forces of fundamentalismSuffocating in the small-town world of his parents, Vijay is desperate to escape to the raw energy of Bombay in the early 1990s. His big chance arrives unexpectedly when the family servant Raju is recruited by a right wing organization. As a result of an article he writes about the increasing power of sectarian politicians, Vijay gets a job in a small Bombay publication, The Indian Secularist. There he meets Rustom Sorabjee - the inspirational founder of the magazine who opens Vijay''s eyes to the damage caused to the nation by the mixing of religion and politics.A year after his arrival in Bombay, Vijay is caught up in violent riots that rip though the city, a reflection of the upsurge of fundamentalism everywhere in the country. He is sent to a small tea town in the Nilgiri mountains to recover, but finds that the unrest in the rest of India has touched this peaceful spot as well, specifically a spectacular shrine called The Tower of God, which is the object of political wrangling. He is befriended by Noah, an enigmatic and colourful character who lives in the local cemetery and quotes Pessoa, Cavafy, and Rimbaud but is ostracised by a local elite obsessed with little more than growing their prize fuchsias. As the discord surrounding the local shrine comes to a head, Vijay tries to alert them to the dangers, but his intervention will have consequences he could never have foreseen.

The captivating story of the Dorai family, spanning nearly fifty years of turbulent Indian history. Not since Vikram Seth''s A SUITABLE BOY has there been an epic of such passion and brilliance.Three generations of an ancient family come and go in Chevathar, the village by the sea. First there is Solomon, the patriarch, manoevuring to keep the peace as caste struggles begin to encroach on the village. Then there is the story of Solomon''s sons, their fortunes rising and falling as India begins its struggle for independence. Finally, there is the story of Solomon''s grandson, making his own stand for independence.A host of characters enliven these pages - from Father Ashcroft, the English priest washed up in a forgotten corner of the empire, to Mrs Wilkins the planter''s wife who clings to the old ascendancy, and Helen, an Anglo-Indian beauty who brings about the final disintegration of the family.