Song of the Golden Sparrow

Authored by Nilanjan P Choudhury (PGP-1998 ).Nilanjan studied at IIM, Ahmedabad and IIT, Kanpur. He grew up in Shillong and now lives in Bangalore with his family.

Song of the Golden Sparrow – a fictional retelling of the history of free India.

“Song of the Golden Sparrow” is a captivating and thought-provoking novel that offers a fictional retelling of the history of free India. The story revolves around the protagonist, the lowly yaksha Prem Chandra Guha, who is banished to India on a punishment posting and tasked with writing a sufficiently riveting history of the land of his exile. The narrative begins with Prem Chandra’s arrival in India on the first dawn of her independence, and fate leads him to Netarhat, an obscure town near the forests of Chhota Nagpur. Here, he encounters Manhoos, an orphaned urchin who repairs motor vehicles, and his friend Mary, a feisty tribal girl from the nearby Santhal village. Assuming the shape of a common sparrow, Prem Chandra becomes an unobtrusive observer and follows the fortunes of Manhoos and Mary as they embark on a journey that takes them to Calcutta, Rishikesh, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad. As they plunge from one adventure to another, a series of intriguing figures play key roles in their lives, including the Naxal leader Charu Majumdar, the renowned filmmaker Satyajit Ray, the ever-giggling Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the powerful business magnate Ameer Premji, and even a mysterious man with a 56-inch chest. On the broader canvas of India, other significant events unfold– Indira Gandhi declares an Emergency, the Jana Sangh, a new political party, is formed, Siddhartha Shankar Ray cleanses West Bengal of Naxalism, Jyoti Basu brings in thirty years of Communism, a dam is built displacing hundreds of tribals, a masjid falls, and a deadly virus rises. The novel skillfully weaves these historical events into the lives of its characters, offering a unique perspective on the challenges and triumphs of independent India