My Temples, Too: A Novel

‘Why do we all find ourselves present in this particular context, in this particular place? How have these pictures assembled here in this jigsaw puzzle? Soon, something will happen, pieces will scatter and become part of a newer pattern … this time will pass…’ Partition, independence, democracy. Me Temples, Too tells the tale of the birth of two new nations experienced in the lives – and deaths – of its young citizens. Set in Lucknow of the 1940s, Qurratulain Hyder’s masterly early novel is a story of kinship, intimate friendships and love in a context of Political upheaval, Rakshanda, Peechu, Kiran, Salim, Christabel – the youthful protagonists are idealistic and enthusiastic, fighting for a brave new world. With the turbulence of partition and independence, the quiet rhythms of domesticity are brutally disrupted. New animosities replace old loyalities, and the merry “Gang” of Lucknow is torn apart as the old order beings to fragment. My Temples, Too is a cry from the heart for the faded charm of Lucknow, for the essence of India, for what the author calls its ‘ganga-jumni’ culture – composite, harmonious, gracious.