Malancha literally means Garden, and an apt title for a novella, that concentrates on a childless couple whose entire life revolves around their garden, providing them with money and the much needed respite from their routine lives.

However, things turn sour after Niraja is bedridden due to a miscarriage and Aditya’s distant cousin and friend Sarala enters into their lives. Sickly Neeraja suspects that Sarala, wishes to usurp her position in Aditya’s heart as well as their garden.

malancha-by-rabindranath-tagore The frustration and anger of Neeraja creates tension and rift between the couple. And the novel traces the turmoil in the protagonists hearts and the awkward position, they find themselves in.

Though I am a fan of Tagore‘s craftsmanship and his ability to portray human emotions in the most impressive way, I found Malancha, a bit too digressing. The novel lays emphasis on the tension between the couple by means of flowers and garden and nature. But, I was frankly bored by the novel and just read the novel to its climax, as I was curious to know the end.

As always, the end is totally different from my expectations, and I felt that was the salvage point of the novel.

One of India's most cherished renaissance figures, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) put India on the literary map of the world when his Gitanjali was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Myriad-minded, he was a poet, short story writer, novelist, dramatist, essayist, painter and composer of songs. His worldwide acclaim as a social, political, religious and aesthetic thinker, innovator in education and a champion of the 'One World' idea makes him a living presence.