God Save This Queen
There is very little that redeems Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s latest historical novel
Even the phrase ‘mixed feelings’ cannot describe your emotions when you read the last page of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Last Queen. On the one hand, you’re grateful to have read a novel about Rani Jindan, the last wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, queen regent of a state in turmoil after the maharaja’s death, and mother of Dalip Singh, who was deprived of his throne by the British and transplanted in England. While much is written about Ranjit and Dalip, few histories go into the story of Rani Jindan, a village girl far from royal stock whose intelligence, bravery and resilience made her a true queen.
On the other hand, when you finish the book, you’re seriously annoyed with the author. Because here is a story that could have been magnificent, and yet the author did little more than follow the skeleton of the Wikipedia entry on Jindan in terms of history, adding precious little insight into both the time period and Jindan’s psychology as she fleshed out her novel.
This does not mean that The Last Queen feels incomplete. It is the straightforward tale of a bright village girl who might have grown to be a frustrated village woman had her father not pimped her to a maharaja. But she captured the maharaja’s interest instead, married him, and swore to keep his state’s best interests in mind upon his death. Given her position and the time she lived in, this meant understanding the games of politics, learning to take charge of her own self and her state, and coping with betrayals, exile, poverty and separation from her child. There is no denying that it is a satisfying story.
But the problem, you realise as you read the book, is the way it is told. A narrative from Jindan’s point of view, it allows no perspective other than her own. You get no sense of the character growing. She seems the same throughout—strong, yes, but without the insights that come from experience. And the style of writing is monotonous. No matter what happens—Ranjit Singh’s death, the turmoil that follows, Jindan’s leadership of Punjab, her separation from Dalip, her reunion with him years later—there is no change in tone. No wonder The Last Queen is a frustrating book. It’s less a historical novel than a domestic tale. ■
—Kushalrani Gulab
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s heroine’s story is a satisfying one— Rani Jindan dealt with betrayals, exile and poverty, but learnt the game of politics and took charge of her own self