Book Review - The Miniaturist By Kunal Basu

The mark of a cultural highbrow of the royalty in the Mughal Era was the patronage given to artists of caliber and talent where a gifted artist could make or break his destiny under the eyes of his master or king. This is what precisely is the premise of the novel, The Miniaturist written by Kunal Basu of the young and playful Bihzad, one such court painter in the reign of Akbar in 16th century India.

Bihzad from an early age shows tremendous promise and his father the Khwaja recognizing his son’s unique abilities decides to isolate the boy from a regular childhood upbringing of school, friends and play time. Soon he attracts the attention of Mir Sayyid Ali, the Nadir Ul Mulk – Wonder of the kingdom who teaches young artists outside the KitabKhana to perfect the art. Bihzad astonishes the master with his unusual drawings and responses. In a perfect example of these strange renderings, he portrays a love story between lovelorn Farhad and Haughty Sirin thus “He drew a great mass of rock, a dark monster rising from the ocean. The peasant was carving a face on the jagged stone. The face of Shirin. With fierce rage striking the immovable, shattering with demonic might, showering his subject with blows. His face is full of anger. As if he was rescuing his love from the dark veil of the rock, setting her free.

When Mir Sayyid Ali questions his prodigy on the painting the boy answers “The brush hasn’t the tongue to speak the secret of love”.

Love is the central theme of this novel, but it has its own dark secrets. When Akbar decided to move his capital to Fatehpur Sikri from Agra, he appoints various artists to write the Akbar Nama and document every facet of his kingdom. Bihzad who is fascinated by the emperor but has never seen him face to face secretly admires him. This admiration turns soon to a kind of devotion and ultimately transforms into a lover like state. His drawings become half remembered, half imagined that begins in admiration and spirals out into a galaxy of passion, love and the forbidden realms of promise. This discovery in the public eye ultimately turns, what could have been stardom into doom and exile?

How does the story end up eventually? The answer has a gorgeous melancholy that shivers the mind. Highly imaginative, evocative with a kind of Freudian twist, the novel entertains and engages at an enjoyable level. A good fascinating read !