SISTER OF MY HEART - Chitra B Divakaruni

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This book is beautifully written, and at a peaceful pace. Nevertheless, it takes your heart for a wild roller coaster ride. If you're able to relate to any of the characters, or even if you're not, you will definitely be left asking for more in the end. Also, the story is left at such a point, I had to check up online to see if there is a sequel. (P.S.- There is.)

Like all old traditional Indian stories, Chitra B. Divakaruni writes about unfulfilled desires and sacrificial love in an emotionally charged flowery prose. The story is about two sisters, Anju and Sudha. They are cousins, although there is a little discrepancy there, born on the same day in the same house in Calcutta (now Kolkata). The very same day their mothers come to know that both their fathers have died in an accident. The sisters grow up as best friends, more like soul mates. They have completely different personalities shaped due to the ideas that society imposes on them. Sudha is made to believe that her father was a bad omen for Anju’s father and their family and their untimely deaths was his doing. As they grow older, Anju dreams of college and Sudha of children. But, arranged marriages divide and thwart them. Anju goes to California with a man who lusts after Sudha; while Sudha marries into a traditional and rigid Bengali family. Years pass and so do experiences, good and bad. Ultimately, the love between the two sisters supersedes all the wrongs in their lives, as they take extreme steps to save the other.

There were several unexpected surprises in this book. Their lives are entwined with secrets, and the author deliberately does not delve into a few aspects making the reader long for more. It is a wonderful tale written rather lyrically. The book feels like small sweet whispers by the author into the ears of the reader, which makes it all the more compelling. Ms. Divakaruni is an incredible writer who delves deep into the construct of human relationships and of the heart.

This book is a treat. I am yet to meet a person who was disappointed by this book.

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