This scenario sets the stage for the character’s life to be changed in equal measure. The entire nation is in the midst of political reform-the regulations around who holds power are being questioned, with “universal franchise” (aka voting rights for all, irrespective of gender, class, etc) finally being officiated towards the end of the book’s timeline. With the opening of each chapter by a quote from the Tamil classical philosophy text ‘Tirrukal’, the text is steeped into the questioning of traditional histories by modern day realities. Backstories as an influence on the character’s present Their dual perspectives occupy different, yet familially joint, spaces, complimenting each other’s inward and outward perspectives. It is home to the two protagonists-the young, spirited and bold Annalukshmi Kandiah, and her reserved, troubled and self-effacing uncle Balendran Navaratnam. ‘Cinnamon Gardens’ is, in fact, an affluent suburb of the then Ceylon (now, Sri Lanka), nestled in which the narrative emerges as a 1920s portrayal. Yet, her story doesn’t just fit into the cliched “of-marriageable-age-but-wants-to-pursue-her-career” trope, rather, it observes the nuances of female desire and subtleties of colonised class-gender distinction. She is uninterested in love on the whole, evading her vindictive father’s suitor. Quite a discovery for bleary-eyed me on a Sunday morning library visit.Īnnalukshmi, who yearns to be someone who doesn’t exist-a native, ceylonese woman in leadership for education. Turns out Cinnamon Gardens has little to do with ‘Cinnamon’ or ‘Gardens’, but a lot to do with the complex intergenerational dynamics and colonial socio-politics within Ceylonese ‘high society’.
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