Bisat Par Jugnu

Fireflies on the Chessboard is a story spanning centuries and borders. Beginning in Patna, about a decade and a half before Indias first war of independence, it ends in Delhi in 2001. In between, it spans from a small princely state in North Bihar to Calcutta and Chinas Canton Province. This narrative, steeped in deep research and historical insight, brings to life many lost chapters of history and the characters who bear them. Here, there is the tragedy of the Indian War of Independence of 1857, and the arduous struggle of Chinese life after the First and Second Opium Wars. Alongside these, runs the Patna Kalam-style story, buried in the debris of time, which Li-Na, a Chinese girl, has come to India in search of. Here, the tales of the sufferings of both countries, fighting the oppression of the foreigners, are similar, and so is the anonymity of the women who plunged into the struggle on both lands. Many such unsung women form the backbone of this novel. Firefly on the Board is not a straightforward (or simple) novel that narrates events chronologically. Here, the narrative lurches back and forth in time, demanding the readers extra attention to the often-disappearing or apparent narrative threads. --Sanjeev Kumar.