Tracing three generations in fiction

Set in a fictional place called ‘Manjooran’ in West Coast of India, the book unfolds the saga of three generations of the fictional Cordelio family.

The novel which follows an eventful pace has been divided in three sections, each narrated by a character of the family.

The first part ‘Sturdy Seed’ that starts in 1902 is narrated by Rex Cordelio, a dispossessed heir who seeks to rebuild his lost fortunes. He finds success and establishes his own coffee plantation hence commencing a tale of triumph and turbulence which will carry on to his descendents. The next part called ‘Bewitching Bloom’ is taken forward from 1964-1980 by Anjalika, a woman of passionate temperament and the last part ‘Heavy Harvest’ which covers time period 1980-2010 is narrated by Jae, the reluctant heir to both wealth and turbulence.

As each of the characters face the challenges of place and time, they may be distinctively different , but they still are similar as each of them seek identity and emotional wholeness.

Mehta has worked hard in capturing the essence of time through her characters and carefully crafted her novel in getting the right placement of music, dances, fashion, food and all other aspects of lifestyle through the three generations.

Speaking to City Herald, author Giselle Mehta reveals facts beyond the pages of her book. Commenting on book title, she says, ‘Blossom Showers’ immediately evokes the beauty of coffee country, which is one of the locales in the novel that shifts between the West Coast and the Western Ghats. A particular phenomenon of flowering that occurs in the coffee cycle becomes a recurring symbol in the lives of the characters, hence the name is apt for the novel, she says.

Speaking on the research she conducted and historical references mentioned, she reveals that it took five years for her to research and write.

“I had to dig into the archives for memoirs, community journals, gazettes, even vintage college magazines. The research wasn’t easy since there were no markers on what I would find. If I chanced on interesting facts, I ensured they were fitted into the story, for example, the novel’s starting point with the celebrations in coastal Canara for the Coronation of King Edward VII in England.

“For more contemporary times, I relied on memory and observation to independently record events and phenomena,” says Mehta and adds that the historical aspect relates to the recorded history of Coastal Christians in respect of their migrations, involvement in conflicts and other facts but the characters whose lives form the subject matter of the novel are wholly fictional and from the realm from her imagination.

Mehta also points out that history is in the nature of background and the actual area of action is the emotional life of the characters.

Speaking about her experience in writing a novel, Mehta says she quit bureaucracy in 2000 and felt a strong need to redefine herself. “I recalled my school girl fantasy to be a novelist.  After ‘Aerial Roots,’ a collection of my poems published in 2001, I thought a novel would be a particularly challenging form of writing,” she says and adds, “My mother, the late Louella Lobo Prabhu was deeply immersed in her own creative life.
Witnessing her dedication to the intellectual life and creative arts was an inspiration in itself- I was stimulated into a quest for my own literary space”.

Speaking on the challenges faced, Mehta says “Writing a book of this scope, size and time frame was a challenge in itself, but one that thoroughly stimulated me. The difficult task was cutting down from the original 700 plus pages to 440 to suit the time constraints of modern readers”.

Writing a sequel may be premature at this point, but I do have the stirrings of more novels within me, says Mehta and adds that she has been heartened by her husband Dharmendra Mehta’s faith in literary abilities. My family is generally accommodating when creative compulsions divert me from household obligations, she smiles.

About the Author

Giselle Mehta has Masters’ Degrees in International Relations and English Literature. She is an Associate of Trinity College, London, in Speech and Drama.

Her working life commenced as a bureaucrat in the Indian Revenue Service, parting ways after 10 years to embrace enterprise and self-exploration. She particularly enjoys creative pursuits rooted in the communicative process - writing, theatre and speaking.

Giselle reserves a special space in her life for altruistic concerns and humane initiatives. She is the author of Aerial Roots, a published collection of her poems. Blossom Showers is her debut novel.