My Father’s Garden by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
My Father’s Garden, a novel that spans half a life, follows a young doctor as he navigates love and sexuality, his need for companionship, the weight of memory, and the expectations of his family.
In the first chapter, “Lover,” he is shown in Jamshedpur studying medicine. He finds a passionate love at college for Samir, a junior who controls his body, mind, and heart. However, when he begs Samir to kiss him goodbye on their final morning together, his lover replies, “A kiss is reserved for someone special.” In “Friend,” a young doctor fleeing heartache finds solace in Pakur, where he develops an unexpected bond with Bada Babu, the hospital’s head clerk.
My Father’s Garden by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
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They enjoy their mutual love of alcohol, delectable cuisine, and friendly company at Bada Babu’s home. However, when government bulldozers show up to level the neighbourhood and Bada Babu’s home, the young doctor learns a sinister story of exploitation and apathy—as well as a side to his new friend—leaving him disappointed.
And in “Father,” the young doctor seeks refuge at his parents’ Ghatsila home after ultimately being unable to escape the suffering. As he recovers, he thinks back on his father, who was once a significant figure who experienced phenomenal success at work and in Adivasi politics before a similarly precipitous fall, and he questions whether his father’s obsession with gardening had anything to do with the decisions his son has made.
My Father’s Garden represents a great talent of Indian fiction writing at the peak of his game. It is written with profound empathy and searing emotional intensity, as well as in the straightforward, unaffected prose that is a defining feature of Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s style.
This novel is quite intimate. Three acts make up the play: “Lover,” “Friend,” and “Father.” He won’t say how closely autobiographical it is, but the first section—which includes quite vivid sex scenes—describes an incredibly heartfelt romance between two men. But eventually, the protagonist is heartbroken when his lover rejects him. He gradually gives up on his own ambitions as he becomes aware that this kind of love is exceedingly challenging to maintain in this social setting.
The ending offers some type of conclusion, but it’s a depressing one. He returns home after resolving most of his argument with his father. Working together in a garden brings peace to a father and son. It is a sort of haven.
