HT reviewer Chintan Girish Modi picks his favourite read of 2024
A novel set in Kumaon that ushers the reader into a stillness that encourages forgiveness and a letting go of long held notions
Preparing for my first trip to the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, I felt inspired to pick up a novel set in the landscape as my travel companion. Namita Gokhale’s Never Never Land seemed like an obvious choice because the author grew up in Nainital — the hill station that I was scheduled to visit for the Himalayan Echoes literature festival. The author’s affection for the place, its people, flora and fauna, gods and goddesses, is a recurrent theme in her work.

Before I caught a first-hand glimpse of the stunning mountains and the mighty deodars, the book prepared me physically and emotionally to be away from the chaos of Mumbai where I live. With its short sentences, bereft of adornment and self-indulgence, it ushered me into the kind of stillness that makes one more alert to birdsong and mountain air, and compels one to pause the internal chatter.

I felt a bit like Iti Arya, the part-time editor and aspiring novelist in the book who travels to the hills for some respite from her life in Gurgaon. Thanks to poor digital connectivity, she is able to slow down, take stock of her life, and also evaluate her personal equation with two grandmothers — Badi Amma, who is ninety-odd years old and Rosinka Paul Singh, who is a hundred and two. They are withering with age yet bursting with vivid memories and intense emotions. If this weren’t enough, Iti has to uncover how she is related to Nina — a girl who might be a troublemaker, a victim of circumstance, or too ambitious for her own good. She also has to come to terms with nature’s fury, which is as enormous as her benevolence.
Far from being an idyllic escape, the trip pushes Iti to confront the skeletons that lie hidden in her family’s closet. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. As Gokhale shows through her confident prose, discomfort has an important role in the journey of self-discovery. We are able to find peace when we let go of our obsessive grip on cherished notions that do not serve us any longer, learn to forgive the imperfections of others, and are also kind to ourselves.
Chintan Girish Modi is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes about books, art and culture. He can be reached @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.
