Book Review: Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakurna

By Aarohi Shah

The book ‘Independence’ by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a historical fiction set in India while it struggled for independence in the year 1947.

The novel covers the lives of three sisters and their challenges as they are torn apart amidst India’s struggle for independence. The story is woven around Deepa with her effortless beauty, Priya with her sharp wit and Jamini with her generous heart. Their lives were going well in the sleepy town of Ranipur until dreams collided and destiny showed up. As they travel along their path, they stumble and fall but never give up. As the country fights for freedom, they each struggle with love, loss and identity.

The main theme of the story revolves around sacrifice, resilience, courage and finding one’s own identity. It’s about the sacrifice made by each, whether it be for the country, their love, their dreams or even their own life. Each character in the book showed great resilience and gave each other strength during the tough times. It took them a great deal of courage to follow their heart, ignore the judgement and dream endlessly. The three sisters were strong young women, the kind who stayed close even when they were apart. This shows the love for family, most importantly, sisterhood. Each character had a unique touch. Each of their personalities were deep, and every character had a purpose or a role to play in the book, without whom the book would have been incomplete. One could easily resonate with the characters, as they stood fearless in the face of falling unity, rising disparity, and broken humanity. With excellent character development in each, the reader can feel the improvement and change as the novel continues. Chitra Banerjee did not use extremely difficult vocabulary or gigantic words. However, she could convey the message and give all the character’s emotions a voice with simple language. With perfect descriptions of the setting, characters and different moods of the story, one could feel being a part of the book. The book wasn’t abrupt or too fast; it was of the perfect pace. As it would slowly build onto the plot, it would hook the reader to know what happens next. The reader could imagine themselves in the particular setting, feeling deeply for the character, sulking in their sadness and smiling when they are happy. The book touches your heart and leaves a mark, showing how many challenges and complications were present back then. This book brings out the emotional trauma of Partition, while the bond adds to the political narrative.

I absolutely loved this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It gave me a new perspective, as it wasn’t just painful for the people who were killed in the riots or the freedom fighters who fought their whole lives for freedom. I learnt how partition affected lakhs of lives, paused thousands of dreams and shattered hundreds of families forever. The part I liked the most was when the 2 sisters, Priya and Jamini, went to rescue their sister, Deepa, in their enemy country along with Amit and Hamid. There were riots against Hindus and Muslims, but fisherman Hamid did not divide people based on religion. He and his comrades risked their lives to save one another. Amit truly loved the sisters and gave his life away to get Deepa back home. He did not regret sacrificing himself since he loved the family so dearly. That part of the story gave me goose bumps. I had only known the sacrifice of great leaders, but these sacrifices are no less. These stories do not get any recognition and may even be forgotten in a few decades. However, their kindness and endless love surpass time itself. It truly inspired me how the broken families could join the pieces again. One can learn how to move on with life, how to get back when you feel like you have fallen into the biggest ditch. This story shows how wounds heal over time; they may never heal completely, but those scars remind us of how far we have truly come.

The rich historical details and complex characters were the perfect combination, which gave me a peep into the most crucial time of the Indian Era. I would recommend this to all my friends, where the females take the lead and such forgotten stories can be revived to life again. However, one part I didn't like was when the two sisters followed their own paths, but Jamini stayed back for her mother. It showed her love for her mother for sure, but it was sad to see how ignored and neglected she was by everyone even after giving up on everything to stay back and take care of others. She wasn’t given the love she deserved even after completely bending over for everyone. She deserved real love, empathy and compassion too, but as she was compared to her sisters, no one ever saw the uniqueness in her. 

Overall, I would definitely give this book a 4.5/5 rating. This is a wonderful tale of three sisters, armed with their unwavering resilience to change their destiny while their country changed its own.

By Aarohi Shah