About the Book
THE MISTS OF SIMLA IS AN ABSOULUTE JOY TO READ. The story begins in 1962, in the sleepy hill town of Solan in the Himalayan foothills, where the Kapoor family have everything going for them - a beautiful home, land and property ...and the respect of the local people. There is just one small problem, however: the high-caste Kapoors are almost always stony broke. Yet they don't let this trifling detail cramp their style, nor do they hesitate to send their 18-year-old son Rahul up to the glittering town of Simla to become a boarder at a very expensive college. Simla, the picturesque summer capital of the British Raj, is the place to be for an ambitious young man. The decadent Brits have been gone for fifteen years, but their habits remain, and cosmopolitan Simla at 7,000 feet with its enticing shops, sexy clubs and 'salivating' restaurants now attracts the rich and famous from all over India. In the 'season' - from May to September - the so-called Queen of the Hills happily plays host to glamorous stars both of India's silver screen and of the cricket-pitch, much to the delight of her inhabitants.
Naive young Rahul cannot believe his luck, finding himself in the midst of all this bounty. What good deeds must he have performed in his past life to earn such pleasures in his present incarnation? In due course, he does enviably well through the twin vehicles of chance and charm, reaching giddy heights on the college social ladder. Laughter and excitement light his way. At the same time, Rahul learns to his cost about the other face of Simla: a place of insufferable snobs and loaded nawabs, where someone with his boyish good looks can get into all sorts of trouble. In one dramatic episode, Rahul manages to thwart vicious local thugs in a life-or-death struggle - even though by so doing he nearly earns himself a life sentence in jail. Or even hanging, because India believes in capital punishment. Throughout, Rahul finds comfort in his like-minded best friend and ally - Krishna, the beautiful God of Understanding in whom Rahul confides on a daily basis. The God and the man have much in common, especially their love for girls and sport.
India's arts and lore are replete with Krishna's conquests and stories of His playfulness, not to mention Him being the ultimate poet-philosopher and author of the Bhagawad Geeta. In the background of Rahul's story is the growing threat of invasion by the once-friendly neighbour China. Non-violent India continues to delude itself by believing that China, a nation that imbibed Indian sage Buddha's message of peaceful co-existence and practised it for 2,000 years, would never resort to full-scale war with the Mahaguru's country of birth. Simla happens to be home to a small Chinese community and Rahul has become best friends with a youth called Lin. When the Indian army suffer a humiliating defeat in the North East Frontier Agency, the Chinese in Simla are punished by having their houses burnt down. Rahul has to risk his own life in order to save Lin from a revenge-hungry mob, and his teenage sister from being gang-raped. The Chinese army then withdraws from Indian territory just as suddenly as it had invaded it, and the former jewel of the Raj becomes once again the 'sweet strawberry Simla'. But there is no peace for Rahul Kapoor!
Just when he thought he had the world at his feet, the arrival of a mystery airmail letter from an old flame ruins all the young fool's plans, leaving him in disarray and the reader laughing out loud. Carefree college days, with plenty of drama, romantic entanglements and above all, cricket.
About the Author :
Balraj Khanna was born in the Punjab, India, and came to London in the Swinging 1960s to study English. Instead, he took to art - eventually becoming 'one of the most distinguished painters working in England' (Bryan Robertson). His enduring love of literature culminated in three works of fiction, of which Nation of Fools was adjudged 'one of the 200 best novels in English since 1950'. He has also written extensively about Indian art. Balraj Khanna still lives in London, next door to Lords Cricket Ground - which he describes as 'his spiritual home'.
Review :
"Indian youth are going to scream. Enthralling! I loved it! Superbly executed! Perfect psyche of a growing young man on the right side of things, bold, brave yet innocently dipped in moral servitudes. The fragrance of family life especially when they meet in SIMLA is deftly handled, the way India is known all over, with every dish the devil raises its head skywards." (Balbir Singh Sambyal) "If you are looking for an entertaining read and lots of laughter, The Mists of Simla will serve you well. Balraj Khanna's The Mists of Simla takes one on a hilarious, gripping and exciting ride through the life of Rahul Kapoor, a handsome boy of eighteen. Mr. Khanna takes a simple plot- a boy aged eighteen goes to Simla to study and learns about life- and makes it an entertainer by humour supplemented with the caricature-ish characters, and by placing the story successfully in a time-frame which gives him the agency to incorporate interesting events in his story. The Mists of Simla is a mad but masaledar blend of events that often transpire in the lives of young men. It's got emotion, passion, loss, humour, heartaches, goons, war, friendship, enmity, sex, homosexual bullies, stern teachers, family, cricket, politics, fights and list continues. The narration is direct and it got me glued to the novel instantly." (Mihir Vatsa)
