Author Aanchal Malhotra on her debut novel: 'Thought I would work on something lighter'

“It is incredibly difficult to carry on the sadness of others. I thought I would work on something lighter.” answers author and historian Aanchal Malhotra when asked about her shift from non-fiction to fiction. After two acclaimed books on partition and its lingering effects in the acclaimed Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory and In the Language of Remembering: The Inheritance of Partition, the author is back with her debut novel, The Book of Everlasting Things.

“This is not a partition novel.” she insists and adds, “I don’t want people to think that I only write about that considering that I’m already pigeonholed into that subject matter. This is a novel that has partition as one of the landscapes, just like it speaks of World War I and World War 2, post war Europe and the subject of multiple migrations.”

Set in Lahore, Paris and Grasse, the book charts the journey of two young lovers, Perfumer Samir and Calligrapher Firdaus. Mounted lavishly amid sweeping landscapes, lush language and intricate detailing, The Book of Everlasting Things is a larger-than-life ode to love. Spread over half a century, it acquires a luminous tinge owing to its verdant vocabulary, unique language and poignant overtones.

Illustrated and Illuminated with the lore of calligraphy and perfumery, it transcends the boundaries of different worlds: of bergamot and rosemary in scented ateliers, of khat-e-nastaliq and khat-e-tughra styles of calligraphy and of formulas to retrace one’s memory and love.

Seeped into the past

“When you are recording real stories about real people, you cannot move them around, change or shift them. With fiction there is freedom in unpredictability, that for someone who has written in one medium for a very long time is exciting.” the author shares. Coming from a language of visual art, Malhotra creates a language of love, loss and longing through her visual inspirations.

Streets of Lahore, the landscapes of Grasse, the world of deghs and petals, the fragrance of distilleries and the delicate choreography of calligraphy: the author transports us into a looking glass with both images and imagery. Recreating the sights, smells and sounds of Lahore was important to the author. Having visited the city in 2014 and 2018, she manages to recreate a city and an era that is long gone.

“I visited most of the places I write, how else does one write?” she laughs. Having started working on the novel in 2016, the author remembers writing in Paris (she writes long hand in a diary) in 2017 and using multiple sources of information to get the tone and tenor right as her stories are set in the past.

As a reader, the running theme one notices is the research, from the inner workings of composing a perfume to the landscapes of a war-torn continent and the heady rhetoric in the days leading up to partition, Malhotra immerses us into the world inhabited by her characters. “Research is fun, as I approach it as a historian.” she reveals, “I also have the rare fortune of being a historian who has written on similar subjects before. Having access to firsthand material definitely helps.”

The author wanted to ensure that every street, every single news broadcast and every single detail (including movement of troops in World War I) was real. The result was rigorous research in fact as well as in all things esoteric: like perfume and art. Perfecting the unique vocabulary that the novel dabbles in was difficult, but Malhotra succeeds at every turn and her research has a direct impact on the dialogue. When a character asserts that creating a perfume is akin to a musician composing a symphony, it was based on what a perfumer described it to Malhotra during her research.

Stepping into the future

The central theme of the novel is love. That it happens during a chaotic time is incidental. Both the lead characters are tied to each other in ways invisible and ambiguous. Malhotra adds, “I’ve heard too many stories from partition, of people who had their first loves that were fractured and spent their lives longing for those left behind.They led normal liveslater, had families and children but still longed for the past. The novel felt like an extension of stories I’ve heard.”

The impassioned language is the anchor that moors the book and connects the readers to Firdaus and Samir. And their history, dreams, desires, and romance. Getting the language right was important for the author who drew nuances from people she has known, who she interviewed and who inspired her. “I don’t think I have a great imagination, so I’m not interested in creating a new world. What I’m interested in is drawing from a world that exists. What helps to relate to the world is the small things: how does a guy speak to a girl, how does he woo her (in case of Samir, he makes a perfume) and the interplay of their courtship.” she shares.

One major issue the novel deals with is the divide in religion which remains a topical issue even today. Malhotra calls it a complicated, complex, and contrasting issue. “The Hindu-Muslim divide has always been a concern historically. Where there were no differences, they were created, where there were differences, they were exacerbated and where there were overt differences, there was immediate violence. The language of pain is still very much around and will take generations to heal.”

Malhotra’s work is popular among the young (evident in the rapturous reception she received at the Jaipur Literary Festival) which is surprising given the themes of her work, which deal with events that occurred decades ago. The author feels that it is because of the inherited sense of loss and displacement that the young experience. “Many say that their grandparents or great-grand parents lived through the narratives I speak of.” she states and adds, “It is both heartwarming and worrying that 75 years later, there is so much left to say about partition.”

The author has lived for five years with The Book of Everlasting Things and says that it has shaped her in more ways than one. “It has made me softer, introverted and reticent.” she reflects, “First novels tend to be autobiographical and there is a lot of me in every character. It has also allowed me to explore themes different from trauma.”

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