Priya Basil

Priya Basil (b. 1977) was born in London, but has spent most of her life away from the metropolis. She grew up in Kenya returning to the UK to study English Literature at the University of Bristol. She had a brief career in advertising before becoming a fulltime writer. She currently divides her time between London and Berlin.

Works

• Ishq and Mushq {2007}

Ishq and Mushq

Ishq and Mushq mean Love and Smell. Against the violent backdrop of India’s Partition in 1947, Karam and Sarna meet, fall in love and marry. They soon leave for Kenya hoping to make a fresh start, but neither can forget what happened in India.

Theirs is a story of the struggle to overcome the past. Scarred by his brush with death at a refugee camp in Lahore, Karam restlessly searches for a new kind of history which he can be part of. He travels the world trying to participate in or pay homage to history, but fate always contrives to make him miss the spectacle. Meanwhile, Sarna retreats inwards, seeking to annul the past by reinventing it. She tries to hide her story behind the witty veil of words and the shadowy smells of spices. But when she receives an unexpected letter from back home, her assumed equilibrium is shattered to the skies.

Spanning the second half of the twentieth century, and moving between India, Africa and Britain, this moving and funny family saga shows how Love (Ishq) can redeem and compromise and Smell (Mushq) can seduce and betray.

Source: Priya Basil’s website www.priyabasil.com