Trishanku – A Novel

Trishanku, an autobiographical novel, is a rich tapestry of an Indian immigrant’s journey of self-discovery and self-identity. It explores what happens when a tree gets uprooted and is replanted in a different soil – what determines whether it thrives or wilts, and how it redefines and reconciles its relationship with the new soil?

Trishanku, a mythological character stuck in limbo between two worlds, aptly reflects the dilemma of immigrants as to whether they have truly arrived or are hopelessly lost. The chapters in the book capture a roller coaster ride of raw emotions that a first-generation immigrant family goes through in a global and a multi-cultural village. Trishanku brings alive a journey that is both calm and chaotic, exhausting and exhilarating and about the relationships and people in life who matter the most.

Trishanku is a story of millions of Indians who call Western countries their home and yet are frozen in time and emotionally cling to the India of their memories, only to see it change dramatically. As New India, free from the vestiges of the past, outpaces them with new-found confidence, their nagging introspections are magnified. They feel alienated from and out of place both in their janma bhumi (native land) and karma bhumi (chosen land), placing them in a Trishanku-like situation.

Has the replanted tree formed deep roots in the new lands and adapted sufficiently to thrive for generations in its new environment? Get some chai and find out!

‘Insightful, moving and engaging read … I’m sure any reader would warm to (the protagonist’s) personality and be rooting for him from the get-go… I very much enjoyed reading Trishanku and I think immigrants and non-immigrants alike would find it insightful and thought-provoking.’