Exclusive interview with author Michelle Moran and a review of her new novel about the palace guard of one of the last queens of India
Rating: 3 Stars
Review by Gabrielle Pantera
“The most surprising thing about writing on Indian culture was probably the concept of Janam Kundlis,” says Rebel Queen author Michelle Moran. “Particularly since Janam Kundlis very nearly played a role in my own life and my marriage to my husband, who is Indian.” A Janam Kundli is an astrological chart intended to predict the future success of a marriage.
Despite the title Rebel Queen, the book is about her female warrior-guard Sita. Born into a country where daughters are not valued, her father trains Sita for the Durga Dal, the bodyguard of Queen Lakshmi, the wife of Jhanbsi’s last maharaja. Sita, who trains for years and has an advantage that her father taught her to speak English, which comes in handy when the territory falls to the British.
Moran’s wonderful descriptions of life in 19th century India is full of details about spices, food, celebrations, fabrics, clothing and rituals. Oddly, at times the story is told in the third person, as though there’s a narrator. The story brings to life the charm of India, but it doesn’t connect the reader to the heroine of the book.
“I came across the life of Queen Lakshmi while getting married in India,” says Moran. “After the wedding, my husband and his family knew about my interest in her and they took me to see her palace and the place where she died. After visiting these sites and hearing the details about her life, and the lives of her female warriors, I knew it was something I had to write about.”
“Even though it didn’t end up affecting me, a person’s Janam Kundli can alter their destiny,” says Moran. “Just as I describe in the beginning of Rebel Queen. No one is sure when the concept of a Janam Kundli came to be, but as Vedic astrology is several thousand years old, it’s not surprising that my protagonist’s Janam Kundli would have looked similar to my husband’s, even though they were born more than a hundred years apart. A person’s Janam Kundli includes the details of their birth…time, date, planetary alignments. It also includes other things which aren’t so common in the West, such as that person’s probable future career and who they were in their most recent past life…in my husband’s case, a yogi.”
A Janam Kundli is made by a priest for each child in India. Once a person’s Janam Kundli is created, they keep that document with them for life. Janam Kundlis are used to make prospective matches between brides and grooms throughout India, where the majority of marriages are arranged.
If a Janam Kundli declares a person to be bad luck, a manglik. He or she may either marry another manglik, thus canceling out their bad-luck status. Or, if the non-manglik person’s family finds the risk acceptable, hire a priest to conduct a variety of ceremonies. Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, a manglik, in 2007 married a tree before she married her husband, thereby canceling her bad-luck.
“In the end, it was decided that my husband should take the risk and go for it,” says Moran. “I never had to marry a tree or even choose among a variety of clay urns for my groom. Either option, apparently, is acceptable, as it’s believed that a person’s manglik dosh can be canceled out if the manglik person’s bad luck is spent on the first marriage. Thus, the bride first marries a clay urn or a tree, then either breaks the clay urn or chops down her tree-husband in order to become a widow.” In some places, the tree is allowed to survive. The second marriage can then proceed without complication.
Moran has written five novels previously, all historicals. Her first editor at Touchstone was Sally Kim. Her current editor is Etinosa Agbnlahor. Moran’s novel Mata Hari has been optioned to become a mini-series.
Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran. Trade Paperback, 400 pages, Publisher: Touchstone; Reprint edition (January 5, 2016), Language: English, ISBN: 9781476716367 $16.00
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