Tejo-Tungabhadra (Vasudhendra)
Early Review
This review is the initial impression of our editorial team after reading approximately one-tenth of the book.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in the Early Review might not necessarily have a correlation with the Final Review of the book.
Vasudhendra has assayed a novel that is monumental in scale
and it takes immense daring to conceive of such a undertaking. The novel oscillates between the backdrop
of the Tejo in Portugal during the Renaissance and the banks of the Tungabhadra in the Vijaynagara
Empire. Gabriel and Bella are young lovers caught in the web of an entrenched antisemitic social
setting with the economic disparity between their families proving to be as insurmountable an obstacle
towards their marriage as much as religious opposition. On the other hand, Belsham and Antonio's
friendship is also tested when Queen Isabella of Spain insists upon the forced conversion of the
Jewish community for her daughter's marriage with King Manuel. The lovers are caught in the midst
of the tumultuous tide that threatens to have a cataclysmic effect on their lives. Humiliated by his
beloved's father due to his family's modest economic situation, Gabriel decides to risk his life by
embarking on a voyage to India. This is where the scene shifts to the Vijaynagara Empire. One can only
wonder that if the setting that was less familiar to the author was presented with such palpable
vividness, to what extent will the reader be swept away when the narrative resumes in the historical
grandeur of the author's homeland?
Original Title : Tejo-Tungabhadra
ISBN : 0670096180 (ISBN13- 978-0670096183)
Edition language : English
Original Language : Kannada
Literary Awards : Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award for Novel (2019)
Published : 03 October 2022
Summary
Tejo Tungabhadra tells the story of two rivers on different continents whose souls are bound together by history. On the banks of the river Tejo in Lisbon, Bella, a young Jewish refugee, and her family face daily threats to their lives and dignity from the deeply antisemitic society around them. Gabriel, her lover, sails to India with General Albuquerque's fleet seeking wealth and a secure future for themselves. Meanwhile, on the banks of the Tungabhadra in the Vijayanagara Empire, the young couple Hampamma and Keshava find themselves caught in the storm of religious violence and the cruel rigmarole of tradition. The two stories converge in Goa with all the thunder and gush of meeting rivers. Set in the late 15th and early 16th century, Tejo Tungabhadra is a grand saga of love, ambition, greed, and a deep zest for life through the tossing waves of history.