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TALENTED
PRIYA BASIL WRITES
A BEST SELLING FAMILY NOVEL
DRAMATIC
'family saga' shifting
between India, Africa and Britain
Coastweek
- - Former Mombasa Academy student Priya Basil has
successfully published her first novel entitled 'Ishq
and Mushq'.
Set
against the violent backdrop of India's Partition in 1947, 'Ishq
and Mushq' tells the story of Karam and
Sarna, a young Sikh couple, who meet and fall in love before
being brutally separated in the stampede to partition.
Reunited
after the chaos, they marry and set sail for Kenya to begin
a new life.
But
history cannot so easily be forgotten.
Traumatised
by his brush with death in a refugee camp in Lahore, Karam
restlessly searches for a new kind of history which he can
be part of.
And
Sarna, retreating inside her kitchen, tries to forget the
shameful secrets of her past by cooking up an alternative
version of reality.
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Coastweek
- - Talented
novelist Priya Basil.
PHOTO
- BRITISH COUNCIL NETHERLANDS
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She is
tracked down by Nina, the illegitimate daughter she abandoned at
birth, and the secrets of her past begin to unravel.
She
must marry Nina off or risk exposure; but first she must teach her how
to cook.
Spanning
the second half of the twentieth century and shifting between India,
Africa and Britain, this family saga dramatizes the Sikh experience
and the secrets which bedevil unhappy families.
The
Guardian newspaper recently chose 'Ishq
and Mushq' as among this year's most promising
writing debuts. 'Ishq
and Mushq' is also one of 100 titles chosen to
promote World Book Day 2008.
A
review of the novel in India Today observed:
"''Ishq
and Mushq' is the product of a light, deft hand
that mixes an engrossing narrative with unexpected dashes of
magic realism, spices it with chilli hot secrets and
sprinkles it liberally with home-truths about colonial
hangovers and diasporic dilemmas, before serving it all up
with impressive elan".
The
Glasgow Herald noted: "'Ishq
and Mushq' is an enticing debut by a much-vaunted
young novelist."
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Coastweek
- - Book cover
for Priya Basil's first novel
entitled 'Ishq and Mushq'.
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Priya
was raised in Kenya - where her parents owned and operated a tourist
hotel on the Mombasa North Coast - and completed her education in
Britain.
She
studied English at the University of Bristol. She
is now a full time writer and commutes between homes in London and
Berlin.
She
has a passion for food and when not writing is often to be found in
the kitchen.
Priya
Basil's new novel 'Ishq and Mushq'
is published by Doubleday and retails @ £12.99.
For
more information visit: www.priyabasil.com
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