How Sikhism fits into
JK Rowling's new book
Published: Friday, Sep 28, 2012, 9:03 IST
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| JK Rowling |
Celebrated author JK Rowling, whose latest book has a Sikh family at
the heart of a fictional village in south-west England called Pagford,
says she did a "vast amount of research" on Sikhism – and it shows in
the book titled The Casual Vacancy.
Answering questions from journalists and others at a book-reading
event at the Southbank Centre here last night, Rowling, 47, said that
when she was in her mid-twenties she knew a Sikh woman who sparked her
interest in Sikhism.
It remained with her all along, so the only non-white family in the book "had to be Sikhs", she said.
Rowling
said she was particularly struck by the egalitarian principles of the
religion, and wove in a Sikh family as one of the central features of
the book published by Little, Brown Book Group (RPT Little, Brown Book
Group).
"I wanted the Sikh family at the heart of Pagford, and I
wanted them to be second generation Britons. So they are insiders and
outsiders simultaneously. In the book, it is Sikhism that provides
religious morality, not the Church of England, which is represented by
an empty church," Rowling said.
Early Indian-origin readers of the
book released yesterday morning said they were impressed by the way the
Sikh family and Sikhism had been treated in the book.
The book devotes considerable attention to Guru Nanak, Guru Granth Sahib, khalsa, and the "night-time prayer, kirtan sohila."
London-based
media consultant Mimmy Jain, who grew up in Punjab, told PTI: "I was
happily surprised to find that JK Rowling had done her research pretty
well. There are no Hindu-Muslim or North-South name mismatches of the
kind that make me shudder in the work of most Western authors who want
to add a bit of curry to their books."
She added: "I liked her
treatment of Sukhwinder, the only one in a high achieving family who is
stuck because she is dyslexic. Of course, it's the parts about the kids
-- all of them -- that really stand out in the book."
The book has
received mixed early reviews, while the jury is out whether Rowling has
succeeded in switching from the literary genre of children books to a
novel explicitly marketed as one for adults.
She said she welcomed legitimate criticism, but it all "depends on who is writing the reviews."
The book contains several expletives that Rowling read out at the second reading at the packed Southbank event.
She described the book as a tragic comedy.
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Vaheguru
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