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The Silk Route Spy by Enakshi Sen Gupta is a true story of an Indian double agent. This book is a journey of Nandlal Kapur who contributed his share in India’s independence movement while working as a spy for the British government. Read the full review and summary in the article below.
Author: Enakshi Sen Gupta
Cover
Plot
Narration
Characters
Release Date 5 August 2024
Pages 216
Book Review: The Silk Route Spy by Enakshi Sen Gupta
The Silk Route Spy by Enakshi Sen Gupta is written by the granddaughter-in-law of the main protagonist, Nandlal Kapur. She combined all the information she got from his husband Vijay and did thorough research to get accurate information about the events that took place during that time to weave this emotional tale of Nandlal Kapur’s dilemma and confusion.
Author Enakshi Sen Gupta wonderfully crafted the character of the main protagonist, Nandlal Kapur. He was an intelligent man and the eldest son among the three siblings. He wanted to change his family’s financial situation, so to help his father, he took up a job in the British government as a spy under the mask of a silk merchant.
On one side he was happy but on the other side, he was torn between his family responsibilities and his duties for his motherland. Nandlal has amazing social skills and he mingles easily with people.
Sometimes he gets confused and has no option but to continue until he gets connected with people fighting for his motherland. At times he finds it difficult to balance between work ethic and desire.
Nandlal and Vimla’s love was very pure. It is their love for each other that made them stronger and motivated them to contribute to the independence movement. They put their love for the motherland above themselves.
All these sacrifices made by the revolutionaries were lost and never received any recognition. The role of revolutionaries was huge which went somewhere unrecognized after independence.
The story takes place around 1920. It starts from Firozpur and moves to Amritsar, Delhi, Rangoon, Shanghai, and Kobe, Japan. Descriptions were vivid and I was roaming in the crowded streets of Delhi and Calcutta, the beautiful fields of Punjab, and then in Rangoon and Kobe.
The author nicely depicted the culture of every country. She also celebrated the food and culture of every country while writing this story.
Family bonding and helping fellow Indians is something that we always experience wherever we go in the world. Nandlal Kapur met many people in his journey who motivated him to participate in India’s independence movement. He also received lots of help and at times people risked their lives and families to hide him from the police.
As the story progresses the confusion of Nandlal and the suspense created by the author keeps the reader hooked with the story.
The cover of the book The Silk Route Spy by Enakshi Sen Gupta is beautiful. The story is written in simple English and the title completely goes with the plot of the story. Through this story, the author has thrown light on the struggle for independence which was not easy, and many uncherished heroes like Nandlal Kapur never received the recognition they deserved.
Parents are an integral part of life and man can cross all limits to keep his family safe is the central theme of the story.
This is a story of love, friendship, and duty for the motherland. If you love reading historical fiction books based on real-life incidents then I will highly recommend you to read The Silk Route Spy by Enakshi Sen Gupta.
Book Summary: The Silk Route Spy by Enakshi Sen Gupta
Nandlal Kapur was born to a family of farmers in Firozpur Punjab. He is a handsome boy in his early twenties. Like every mother, Prito Devi too wanted to get her elder son married. But Nandlal had other plans for his life. He wanted to support his family and see the world.
He took up a job as a spy in the British government because of his charming personality and quick learning capabilities. He learned all the arts and skills required for his job. He was initially posted as a spy in Firozpur where he helped the British government to catch the young revolutionaries.
Impressed by his work he was sent to Amritsar. Here he came in close contact with revolutionaries. As he spent more time with them he realized that he too should contribute a bit to his country’s freedom.
He became a double agent and worked for the British for money and with revolutionaries for the freedom of his motherland.
Did Nandlal Kapur ever get caught by a British Official?
Did revolutionaries ever find out about Nandlal’s British connections?
To know more read The Silk Route Spy by Enakshi Sen Gupta.
This review is powered by the Blogchatter Book Review Program
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