There is hope of change coming to India. Word from the north
says that the British are moving out and Indians are going
to rule themselves. Does any of this matter to Ashish and
his wife, Kia? They are still Untouchables and of the lowest
class in India. They still toil from sunup to sundown to
tend the rice fields for the Landlord Boban Joseph, just as
Ashish's parents did before him because they are indebted.
But his eleven year old daughter, Shridula, clings to a hope
deep inside her. She is always asking why things are the way
they are. Ashish does not have an answer.
When Boban Joseph is killed one evening, his brother Saji
Stephen becomes Landlord. He and Ashish are well acquainted,
as Ashish was called to the Landlord's house to be Saji
Stephen's playmate when he was younger. Saji was always
misbehaving then and made Ashish take the punishment for
Saji. The Untouchable workers feared what kind of Landlord
Saji would be. But Saji doesn't pay much attention to the
rice patties, the workers or the harvest, and neither does
his two grown sons. They all just live a leisure life of
luxury on the plantation.
Saji summons Shridula to come to the house to play with his
eleven year old daughter, Glory Anna. She has been raised by
her grandmother, who recently passed away, and was raised a
true Christian. Glory Anna does not view Shridula or any of
the Untouchables as lower class. She thinks everyone should
be treated as an equal. As the months passed, Shridula
returns to the village and tells every one of the changes
taking place with the government. Many questions still
remain unanswered for the Untouchables.
When Britain pulls out of India and the country is divided
into a Hindu region and a Muslim region, Saji's oldest son
leaves for Delphi to seek a place in the government. Saji
gives his youngest son, Nihal Amos, partial control of the
workers and harvest. When Shridula hears about this, she
decides it is time to take action. With Glory Anna's help,
she packs her things and leaves to get her father. Together
they leave the Untouchable village during the night. What
will be their fate? Will they be able to live alone and
survive, or will Saji hunt them down?
THE HOPE OF SHRIDULA is the second book in Kay Marshall
Strom's Blessings in India Series. It is set in the mid
1940's when there is much upheaval and unrest in the country
and many people question their future. Shridula's hope of
one day living a free life never fades. She learns about God
from her father's Bible, given to him years earlier by the
pale woman at the Mission Clinic. She puts her faith and
trust in Him for a brighter future. This is a wonderful
historical, inspirational novel that will bless your heart.
India: 1946. “Blessing!” Ashish murmured. “Such a name for a
man cursed by a million gods!” For forty-eight years, his
family toiled as slaves in the fields of the high-caste Lal
family, and all because of one small debt. Ashish and his
family knew nothing of the hatred for the British seething
around them, nor of the struggle for independence that
simmered throughout India. At fifty-four, Ashish was old and
worn out. His wife had died long before—how many years, he
had no idea.
Even though he had four sons to work beside him in the
fields, every day was a struggle to survive. Sometimes his
only daughter worked, too, but she also cooked and cleaned
and kept the clothes in repair. His wife had named the girl
Shridula—Blessings. “Perhaps the name will bring you more
fortune than it brought me,” Ashish told his daughter. His
words proved to be prophetic in ways he could never have
imagined. And when the flames of revolt brought independence
to India, they seared change into the families of Ashish and
Lal.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy