This is the sequel to The Henna Artist and revisits the characters from that novel. It's not necessary to have read The Henna Artist to enjoy this story, but I'd strongly recommend it.
*****
It's 1969 and Lakshmi Shastri and her now 20-year-old apprentice Malik, both of whom left Jaipur 12 years ago......
......are happily settled in Shimla, in the foothills of the Himalayas.
Lakshmi is married to Dr. Jay Kumar, who works at the Lady Bradley Hospital and directs the Community Clinic.....
......while Lakshmi runs the adjacent Lady Bradley Healing Garden, where she grows plants used to make natural medications.
Lakshmi and her helper Malik make the acquaintance of a young illiterate widow named Nimmi, a mother of two who gathers flowers from the Himalayan foothills and sells them on the side of the road.
Malik is attracted to Nimmi, which doesn't sit well with Lakshmi, who wants Malik to have a successful career and to (eventually) wed a well-educated woman.
For this and other reasons Lakshmi sends Malik back to Jaipur, to learn the construction trade. Malik becomes the apprentice to Lakshmi's friend Manu Agarwal, who oversees building projects for Jaipur's royal family.
The royals have commissioned the construction of a movie theatre called the Royal Jewel Cinema, and Ravi Singh (the rich teenage bad boy from The Henna Artist), who's now a Yale-educated architect, is in charge of the project.
The grand opening of the cinema is a HUGE big deal, attended by film stars and high society.
Tragically, a balcony collapses during the film's intermission, killing two people and injuring many others (not a spoiler). Malik's mentor Manu Agarwal is blamed for the disaster, but Malik is sure Ravi Singh used inferior building materials and skimmed the profits. Malik makes it his mission to prove this, but it's very hard to go up against the rich and powerful.
Meanwhile, back in Shimla, Lakshmi uncovers a gold-smuggling operation run by savage bandits. The smugglers conceal the gold in the fleece of sheep, which are guided to their destination by shepherds.
If a shepherd doesn't deliver the goods, the smugglers kill the shepherd's family. This threatens people Lakshmi knows, so Lakshmi takes it upon herself to fix things, which is a dangerous thing to do.
As the story unfolds, Lakshmi and/or Malik touch base with various characters from The Henna Artist. These include Ravi Singh's (now) wife Sheila - who disdained Malik when he was a barefoot child, but doesn't recognize him now; Ravi Singh's father Samir - who gave Lakshmi her big break as a henna artist and businesswoman; Lakshmi's sister Radha, who married a Frenchman and lives in Paris; Radha's biological son Nikhil, who she had at the age of 14 and (reluctantly) gave up for adoption; Maharani Latika - who was pulled out of a depression by Lakshmi's herbs and ministrations; the dowager Maharani Indira - who has terminal cancer; and more.
During the course of the story I learned a bit about Indian culture and food, and I enjoyed broadening my horizons. I wish I could have tasted snacks like chili peanuts, pani puri, and potato samosas;
Chili Peanuts
Pani Puri
Potato Samosas
and tried dishes like chicken tikka masala, lauki ki sabji, palak paneer, and palak gobi sabzi.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Lauki Ki Sabji
Palak Paneer
Palak Gobi Sabzi
For me, this book isn't quite as good as The Henna Artist, in large part because the plot isn't as engaging. In addition, there are long chapters about accounting practices in the building trade, which I found dull, and there are scenes where Sheila 'teases' Malik with her sexy body, which made me squirm (and want to push him out the door).
Nevertheless, I found the story interesting and look forward to the next novel in the trilogy.
Rating: 3.5 stars
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