“I found myself wondering how many Delhis had slipped through the cracks of history, how many still hovered like ghosts trapped under the surface of the indistinguishable palimpsest that constituted the city, waiting to be freed and to reveal themselves in brief flashes of immortality. Half as old as time — no, Delhi was older than time,” says William Rhodes, one of the protagonists of the book. “Enjoy your Delhi. Someday this too will be in the past,” echoes a reverberating response.
To bring to life this city as an experience is, perhaps, what Aishwarya Jha attempted to do, within the narrative she weaves. The Scent of Fallen Stars is a striking debut and an unputdownable read. Jha tells the story of two people, Will and Aria, and of two Delhis, about 23 years apart. A complex narrative then begins to draw itself through constantly shifting timelines, perspectives, and people. The author employs a mix of Urdu, Hindi, and a few varieties of English, as well as highly detailed and descriptive prose to paint a picture of bustling life in India. Her style bears a resemblance to that of Alka Joshi’s (author of The Jaipur Trilogy of books) and possibly has been inspired by the same, giving the book, replete with visual cues, a cinematic appeal.
A handful of characters appearing, disappearing, and reappearing throughout the book are what, or rather who, drive the narrative, and the same stands true for the city of Delhi. For each character, the city takes on a different appearance: to one, it is a way of evading a certain past, to another, a puzzle waiting to be solved, its pieces all scattered. Yet many of its facades do not get the spotlight; they remain in the minds of the secondary characters, many of whom often forget to exist. Delhi remains the only anchor to the chaos that seems to permeate into the plot as the pages turn.
The Scent of Fallen Stars is the story of “[a mother] and [a daughter] and the many forms of love” and an unending search for the self. The book thus takes on a philosophical appearance, almost as if it intends to unravel and lay bare the mysteries of the world. Consequently, the scope of the book expands and shrinks too frequently and too rapidly, and it begins to appear confused. The ornamentally embellished exterior becomes too heavy for the tenuous internal structures to hold; the structural integrity of the narrative is compromised and it runs the risk of imploding. A clear agenda seems to be absent. L’art pour l’art, some may argue. But they must understand that even “art for art’s sake” is an agenda in itself, for it is a defiance.
Despite these limitations, Jha’s The Scent of Fallen Stars has potential. The themes and tropes as portrayed in the book — a quest for meaning, learning the various forms of love, etc. — are better suited to an audio-visual or filmic form. With a few minor changes, the book would make for a compelling base for the screenplay of a commercial film, or even an audiobook, as it already makes many Bollywood references. Such a tale of dedication, love, and undying resilience, as has been tested by time, is sure to resonate with the admirers of the genre.
Ankit Rath is the founder of The Biblioraptor and a PhD scholar.
The Scent of Fallen Stars
By Aishwarya Jha
Penguin Viking
pp. 376, Rs 599
