Goa, land of sun, surf and sand, of secluded coves, and of forested hills, where foreigners frolic on the beaches without restraint and where, in the Hindu villages just a few kilometres inland, repressive traditions still rule. And when the boundary between the two is crossed, the consequences can be unpredictable.
Clash of cultures Review by Chandni Chopra An Englishman who hobnobs with hippies meets a rural Indian girl who yearns to break free from the oppressive traditions and they get married! I feel that is more than enough to get the reader curious about this novel. Their marriage causes a chain reaction that reaches a climax after eighteen years when Ronnie visits the beach in Goa and meets Meera, a young girl. I think the way Lalita Das handles the intermingling of Western and Eastern cultures and philosophies in this novel is refreshingly different from the other books that explore the clash of cultures. The idea of the dance of Kali who saves her devotees from the clutches of karma gives a mystical feel to this novel. I felt that Kali in this narrative symbolises the power of womanhood. Anyway, the philosophising is not heavy and the writer keeps even the average reader interested through an emotionally charged story of vengeance and love.
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