Indian American Shanthi Sekaran's first novel The Prayer Rooms shows how love develops in a not-so perfect marriage between two strangers brought together by circumstances

With the market flooded with books written by Indians, who have spent most of their lives abroad, it is not difficult to recognise when a new one hits the stands. In that respect, Shanthi Sekaran's first novel The Prayer Room is no different. Characterised by an effort to bring out differences yet bridging the cultural gaps is a common pattern that most Indian American authors nowadays follow, Sekaran is no exception. However, she scores when it comes to narrating a story that involves the deepest of emotions portrayed in a simple but poignant manner.



The story begins in 1974, with a young British PhD student George Armitage sitting in a plane uncertainly beside his new Indian bride Viji hailing from a traditional family. The marriage that happened suddenly has a bumpy start but with years both try to overcome their differences. The outline may not sound different but Sekaran's subtle and sensitive treatment of their relationship brings out a deeper meaning of love that slowly breaks boundaries of cultural differences and the conventional concept of fidelity.

However, Sekaran's book has some loose ends in terms of characterisation. Sekaran should be complimented for carefully etching a sensitive portrayal of Viji.u00a0 Her conversations with her dead relatives in a traditional self-made prayer room bring out interesting layers of her character. But sadly somewhere in the course of the story Sekaran loses the flow thus making the characters look half-hearted. Reading The Prayer Room may make you feel like a sumptuous Indian meal without a dessert.

In an email interview with The Guide, Shanthi Sekaran, who has spent most of her growing up years in California and now teaches at San Francisco told The Guide how she wrote her first novel.