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Days of Gold and Sepia
It is a racy read as once you enter the swirling waters of her words; the author takes you surfing over the tides of events in Lalljee’s life. Riding on the waves of emotions, one moves from one character to another, each one like a different island that the ‘master mariner’, Lalljee, explores in the great voyage of his life. Interestingly, the second most important character of this tale of memory and desire is the city of seven islands — Bombay.
She paints a vivid picture of Bombay straddling the late 19th and early 20th centuries, encased in old-world charm. She gives a generous peep into the lifestyle of the multi-hued social fabric of the city comprising wealthy seths, English sahibs, Maharajas, courtesans, social activists et al. While Lalljee, the pauper, metamorphoses into an influential business tycoon; Bombay, a port city of cotton mills, changes into a bustling business centre. It is the story of human grit and of the innate goodness of a man. The author never trespasses the shores of human values in her tale. Through Lalljee’s character, Yasmeen conveys that though winds of fate and dark storms of destiny can rock life’s ship temporarily, these can never make a man of worth lose his core of goodness. Even the indiscretions and dalliances of Lalljee are projected in a positive "frame." After putting down the book, the feel is that of having flipped through a very old photo album with its monochromes with faded faces wearing unfathomable expressions — a feel of having seen a lot but not enough. Leaving readers yearning for more with one’s very first book is no mean achievement and Yasmeen achieves that for sure with her Days of Gold and Sepia.
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