An Indian author has spent six years crafting a powerful narrative that hits close to home, imagining a near-future Kolkata devastated by the escalating climate crisis. Her novel, 'A Guardian and a Thief', plunges readers into a city grappling with severe food shortages and extreme heat, where two families clash in a desperate bid to protect their own children.
From Personal Sorrow to Fictional Reality
The genesis of the book was deeply personal. The author explained that reading about how profoundly Kolkata is already affected by climate change—with rising temperatures and predictions of more severe storms—filled her with a sense of sorrow for her hometown. This emotional response sparked a critical question: What would the lived experience of such a crisis be?
Writing this future, however, was challenging. The material felt uncomfortably close. She describes a world where shoes might stick to melting tar on a hot day and where people could agitate for the right to shade. "That future, I think, is very close to us, and there is something difficult about facing it," she admitted. Yet, she found joy in fiction's power to ask urgent, important questions and explore complex dilemmas.
Interrogating Hope and Morality in Extreme Times
At its core, the novel is a deep dive into morality. "What is the right thing to do?" the author asks. It questions how individuals act within vast, overpowering systems. A recurring theme is the complexity of hope. The author noted that grim climate reports are often followed by calls for hope, but she probed deeper.
"What does this hope mean?" she wondered. The story explores scenarios where hope for one's own family manifests in vicious or violent ways, or where one person's hope directly clashes with another's. The central moral quandary is stark: What will we do for the people we love, and how can we ensure that love aligns with our moral being?
Building Complex Characters and a Child's Moral Centre
Becoming a mother profoundly shifted the narrative's perspective. Initially focused on a 10-year-old, the author became fascinated by the viewpoints of both a mother and a very young child. In the book, a two-year-old girl named Mishti becomes "a centre of delight and brightness." The author believes children often hold the moral centre, and it felt crucial to take their perspectives seriously.
Character development was intensive. She began with clear archetypes—a motherly guardian and a thief—but realized truth lay in complexity. "The more truthful and interesting thing would be to have elements of both and shades of both in each person," she stated. Building a character who "rings true" is the work of building a complicated person, capable of both courage and foolish mistakes, principle and shameful actions.
Ultimately, the book serves as a mirror, asking readers a pressing question: "Who would I be in a climate crisis?" It challenges them to consider their reactions to extreme scarcity—like being offered insect protein or algae at the market—and what that would do to them as a parent or guardian. The novel courageously examines how even beautiful emotions like love can have harmful consequences, urging a humble engagement with life's most complicated questions.
