Of Gods and Goddesses

Born into an aristocratic family from Varanasi,the protagonist of Ila Pal’s 2012 novel Stealing Gods,Pashan,spends his time illegally trading ancient artefacts. He visits temples and other such places and steals them or illegally sources them from elsewhere,and then proceeds to sell them. Anything beautiful that he comes across and fancies,Pashan must have. Soon after he acquires them,however,he loses interest.

During one such search for these objects,he sees a young,quintessential Indian beauty,Anupama,and as with all things beautiful,decides he must have her. They marry,but soon after,Pashan begins to lose interest. The book explores the characters of Pashan and Anupama,while trying to explain why the former does what he does. “He’s aware he’s doing wrong but something in him compels him to keep doing it,” explained Pal,at a book reading at Kitab Khana,Fort,on Thursday. “There’s a sense of defiance in him,” she adds. Pashan,she narrates,grew up with two mothers and consequently his father’s attention was very divided.

Although a work of fiction,the novel is based on the experiences of a feudal lord the author says she met in the late 1960s. It is set in Varanasi,the town Pal lived in through college and fell in love with subsequently. “I studied in a Varanasi college. I was in a hostel where the rules were stringent,but I used to run away every Sunday morning,” she recalls,“I fell in love with the place and knew I had to return there one day.”

Through the course of the story,Anupama,although initially almost defeated,manages to turn Pashan’s character and,eventually,their relationship,around.