Ret Samadhi/Tomb of Sand, A True Depiction of a Woman's Life

Tomb of Sand By Geetanjali Shree

The world is full of women who have changed history despite having fewer opportunities to thrive than men. Generally, women are portrayed as feeble people who bow to the circumstances presented around them. Yet on many occasions, women have proved themselves strong, independent, passionate, and empowered individuals who have governed the world and changed societies with their skills and feminine power. They carved out footholds in different fields, like literature, politics, science, history, technology, and many more. 

One of them is Geetanjali Shree who (64 years) was born in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India (1957). She is an Indian writer and has written various novels and short stories, and her work has been translated into different languages like English, French, German, Serbian, and Korean.

Tomb of Sand Novel as International Booker Prize Winner

Shree's award-winning fictional family drama novel, "Tomb of Sand,"  is top-rated and has around 725 pages. This novel won an International Booker Prize ($63,000) this year (2022). The International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize is a prize given to a book that has been translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. Books written by different authors are nominated for this award each year. The book, which has a significant impact on society, is selected as a winner.

Ret Samadhi/ Tomb of Sand was first published in the Hindi language under the title of Ret Samadhi in 2018, and it depicts the 80-year-old transformation of a wife following her husband's death. She then decides to fly to Pakistan, where she will confront the trauma carried by her since she was a girl who lived through the partition. In this novel, the main character finds a new life after the death of her husband because she finds a new way to live, and then her whole life revolves around pain, motherhood, power, passion, vitality, exuberance, and feminism. The Tomb of Sand unfolds the aftermath and hardships of the Indo-Pak people after partition in 1947. This novel is a masterclass piece and has a striking literary depiction of different family dynamics.

Tomb of Sand is the first Indian novel to win the award, which honors fiction translated in English and published in the United Kingdom. The novel Tomb of Sand was translated from Hindi to English by Daisy Rockwell, and she translated it in a remarkable style. Shree has a unique writing style, and her word choice is also mesmerizing. While translating the book of Shree, Rockwell characterized it as one of the most enjoyable, beautiful, and strenuous things she has ever done.

 

Why we should read Tomb of Sand?

Quote od Geetanjali Shree

The Tomb of Sand is a superbly narrated novel that will keep us engaged and entertained for hours. It depicts the anguish and joy of childhood to adulthood, with the reviving of a dead woman. This book explores the power of a woman as a mother, daughter, sister, wife, and feminist. It is a must-read novel based on a humorous piece of creativity about the detrimental consequences of boundaries, whether they are physical, psychological, cultural, gendered, or religious.