Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Okay, you are going to want to thank me for this early warning: ‘Silk Route’ by Sachin Kundalkar ends with a frustrating cliffhanger, promising the rest of the story in a Part 2. So if you don’t like books that ends in a way that makes you want to scream ‘What the hell?! where is the ending?!’…. this might not be for you.
Nishikant the narrator takes you along a ride into his life, halting at Pune, Mumbai, London and back in Mumbai again. But the ride feels like you are on fast Mumbai local, missing several stops along the way. Nishikant begins ‘Silk Route’ by recounting his love for long walks along the streets in Pune and the ability to recall every shop name along a road, then moves on to giving readers a rushed glimpse into his romances with a Delhi boy in Mumbai and a young man with royal blood in London.
Silk Route is meandering, slightly abstract, sometimes fluid, and oftentimes ‘constructed’, by which I mean that a lot of dialogues feel made-up to make a certain point, and not like real conversations that take place in the real world. The interactions take place spontaneously, but the content feels like someone one would’ve rehearsed before saying to make forceful points.
Honestly, I am not sure why the novel is called ‘Silk Route’, but if one must take a shot in the dark, I’d guess it’s because the famed trade route used to be known for its hazardous journey, although it was also a gateway to culture, wealth, spice, and knowledge exchange. With each new lover, Nishikant learns something new, even if the details aren’t extensively written out in this little novel.
And that brings one to the length of the book – ‘Silk Route’ is so small, one can finish it in half a day, which is why the abrupt ending and a promise of a part 2 feels disappointing. Author Sachin Kundalkar could’ve easily added a 100 or more pages to this same title and delivered a more comprehensive tale of love and loss. Nishikant loses one love to death, and another to a marriage of convenience.
Nishikant’s romantic life might remind readers of Sachin Kundalkar’s earlier novel ‘Cobalt Blue’, where one of the queer character remarks that women always take away every man one loves. Even so, Nishikant keeps corresponding with his former lover, nurturing the dream of reconciliation through letters. So, when the ex mysteriously disappears from his marital home, that fragile hope only intensifies, and Nishikant begins to imagine that one day, the man might return to him.
The disappearance introduces a layer of mystery into the second half of ‘Silk Route’, yet the novel withholds any clear explanation of his fate. Rather than offering closure, it concludes with a censored letter, a choice that deepens the intrigue but also leaves a lingering sense of dissatisfaction.
But well, despite its short length, and random ending, ‘Silk Route’ is engrossing, sensuous, and poetic in parts, making it worth a read.
Rating for ‘Silk Route’: 3 on 5 stars.
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