This book took me an awfully long time to finish. But it was worth the long read- the language is very relatable to a native Hindi speaker, though I wonder someone who can't easily translate 'ashes on their head' to the colloquial meaning may find this book tiresome. The book is steeped in contemporary world happenings as the story of Bhushan slowly, very slowly unfolds. The Caliphate is abolished, the Khilafat movement is going on, Turkey is modernising with Ataturk and finally the Lahore conspiracy happens & of course, the Bolsheviks are always coming. The book is an interesting perspective of the upper class privileged folks under the British rule to the freedom struggle, to Gandhi. Bhushan is an interesting character- dull and insipid- it must take a lot of patience to paint this character and make a story for him. His slow story during his imprisonment is made up for by elegant characters around him- the comrades. I loved the end of the story, just when the slowness and drudgery of the story was beginning to get to you, Nayantara comes up with a charming end-game. ( )