Why a Booktrail?
1870s: M M Kaye takes to an India that you are unlikely to forget. A British man struggles with his identity once he finds out he is Indian and a Hindu.
The Far Pavillions
What you need to know before your trail
Ashton, also known as Ashok, is born in India with a rich set of aristocratic English parents.
At the age of 6, there is an outbreak of cholera in the area and everyone dies except him and his Hindu nurse who then raises the orphaned child as his own. Later on the little boy discovers that his slightly lighter skin actually reveals that he is British and he starts to struggle with his ‘new’ identity.
As he grows up, the struggles continue but he finds work as a servant at the King’s palace in Gulkote. It’s there that he meets Princess Anjuli who also struggles with a mixed identity and a sense of confusion about who she really is. Naturally the two children form a bond but it’s a bond which could lead to danger.. Things become so tense that he is forced to leave the country.
Back in England he joins the army and when he returns to India to try and find Anjuli he is still struggling with his identity. If he finds Anjuli will they be able to reunite and is it still safe in a country also divided?
Travel Guide
“We go to find our Kingdom….Our own Dur Khaima–our far pavilions.”
The Mountains
The Far Pavilions also refers to a mountain range, and one where the magic and the mystique of India and the story of Ashton and Anjuli develops and unfolds.
From his birth in the Himalayas, Ashton Hilary Akbar Pelham- Martyn (to give him his full name) is a mixed up man. In a country where parentage, caste and family is more pronounced than most, he has aristocratic English parents and is brought up in a wealthy family.
As Ashton and Julie’s life develops and unfolds, their love grows and their identities come to the fore. They are great characters and we see the country and its culture through their eyes, their suffering, their love and ultimately their destiny. As we learn of them, we learn of India’s identity too and the complex web that the country and the Indian subcontinent at that time.
Afghanistan
Later on the story of the wider picture of the time us evoked and the action moves to Afghanistan and the British incursions there – particularly showing what happens when the British set up a mission in Kabul. this is where the most dangerous part of his own journey as he becomes a vital player in the guides. The British Raj and the role it played in Afghanistan and the region as whole drives the story and the novel to a whole new level.
The world portrayed here is one of politics, identity, romance and the British Empire. Quite a list but one which brilliantly captures the complexity of the country and its people.
Where Next?
