The Mute Anklet - Radhika Nathan

86 of 2020, The Mute Anklet by Radhika Nathan, Set in the 1790s in India, against the backdrop of the third Anglo-Mysore War between the Kingdom of Mysore and the East India Company is also a love story between two extremely different people, Uma Brooke and Captain Trevelyan. It explores relationships and the search for identity.

Raised in South India, Uma Brooke is an Englishman’s daughter, in the care of Maharaja of Mysore. Though she has distinctly English looks, she is deeply attached to India and has developed strong prejudices against the invading Britons. Captain Trevelyan is a Briton and a man with an indifferent attitude towards Indians. While Uma believes in literary romantic love and feels ‘do not enter marriage if you do not love’, Captain Trevelyan does not believe in love. He says, “Marriage would be the fastest way to get me into all that I loathe.” He associates marriage with volatile mood swings, confrontations, complicated words, and worries on balancing one’s pocket. The two completely different personalities are brought together through unusual circumstances and married for strategic purposes. The maharajah wants her to marry Captain Ashton Trevelyan of the British army, a man he takes an immediate liking to. Uma has no desire to hurt her gentle guardian; yet, prejudiced by the circumstances of her birth, and vociferous about her attachment to India, she cannot conceive of a future with a Briton. Detached Captain Trevelyan, on his part, feels compelled to submit to this marriage  – after a failed siege, consenting to the maharajah’s demand is the only way of salvaging the battle. 

“Why did everyone think marriage was necessary for one’s happiness? She would have been perfectly content with her books, her chess games, and her debates with her papa and the maharajah”, wonders Uma. Radhika Nathan brings to light the various thoughts on marriage and relationships through her characters Uma and Captain Trevelyan.

Further, through their story Radhika conveys that changing one’s beliefs is not a sign of weakness. The strength of a relationship lies in accepting the other person and holding on to each other despite all the flaws.  Another element of the story is Uma’s journey to find her identity.  Being born with English looks, everyone considered her to be different even in her family. She had only her Maharajah to comfort her and her Ayah. 

Marrying a Briton and living among his people, helps her discover her past. Meanwhile, in the background runs another story of the ‘Mute Anklet’, which can be termed as one of the prominent characters in the book. Another unresolved mystery is that someone is chasing Uma and threatening her wherever she goes. A glimpse of history, food for thought and changing times is what I take at the end of it.