Cut to 1959. Alfred A. Alleye is sitting on a lonely chair lamenting to a photograph of his wife Rose, who has recently and suddenly past away, after their fifty years of partnership.
Alfred A. Alleye met Rose on SS Alexandria, the ship taking passengers from the port of Aden to America, the two travelling there, each seeking a new life in the country of possibilities. They fall in love and are married off on the ship, with much celebration thrown in by the ship's Captain.
At this point the story takes a turn to a series of flashback, taking the reader to the early 20th century, 1895 onwards, the years of the British Raj in India.
Between 1895 to 1906, Azeem, the male protagonist, born in an upper class family in Rannpur, is met with personal tragedy, in which his parents and the entire family is killed and he is admitted in an orphanage in abject poverty to study. Azeem with a keen love for horses, finally moves to Saharanpur, where he trains to be a syce, and has now found employment with Norman Evans, who with his wife, Martha and daughter Madeline, are visiting Nainital, the beautiful and cool North Indian hill station. Norman Evans is employed with a British Company, while his wife and daughter have travelled from Middlesbrough, England, to spend time with him, in his station, Jaunpur.
Our female protagonist, Madeline Evans, is an exceptionally brilliant and gifted woman, with extraordinary skill to pick up languages. She already speaks six foreign languages and has embarked on learning Hindustani while she is in India. When her mother and she return to England, Madeline is set to join Oxford University. But alas, this plan is derailed as Madeline and Azeem fall desperately and passionately in love, with each other. This happened behind Madeline 's parents back and the two lovers make plans to marry and elope to a country where they can live happily thereafter.
More easily said than done, but the star of good luck favour them and while Madeline is on ship returning to England, she escapes from the vessel to meet Azeem midway, who has travelled over from India to Baluchistan and into Arabia, on horse and camel back, having stolen the British Identity Card of his Army Chief, uniform and money to meet his lady love in Port Aden.
In her latest romance novel, Once Upon A Summer, author Manjul Bajaj, takes the reader on a journey of the most powerful love story covering almost one hundred twenty five years starting in the British Raj. A love story so intense that the main protagonists of the story are willing to give rebirth of their identity, just to survive the harsh circumstances to keep the fire of their love, alive.
The love story between Azeem and Madeline is not an ordinary one, as it breaks barriers of caste, community and race, to abound in not only devoted love but a learning exchange of language and literature. Not to forget the inclusion of Christian hymns sung by Madeline 's ayah, Mariam. The book spans across northern Indian towns and hill station, like Nainital, Jaunpur, Rannpur, Saharanpur, Lucknow, although the latter towns have not received much descriptive attention, except for Nainital, which takes the reader to the most beautiful hill station experience with picturesque description.
Indicative of extremely strong writing skill in English, that the author possesses, the long paragraphs are a joy to read, without any need to use a dictionary. She explores Hindustani, Urdu through her characters unfolding the rich heritage of these languages in India. It is evident that an enormous amount of research has gone into the writing of this book.
What is adorable too is the inclusion of birds, animals, trees and plants, as if their presence and communication is as human as the people themselves. This has been quite a regular feature in Bajaj's writings, from the time of her book, In Search of Heer.
Finally, it is that gene that travelled through the generations to give Tara Walker the Academy Award and Oscar, for the best actor which was revealed to her by her grandmother after she handed her the gift, coming down from one generation to the other, of women with immense talent like her grandmother, great grandmothers all concealed in the book Tales from Around the World, the Atlas and Umrao Jaan Ada. The tale of Madeline and Azeem.
About the author
Manjul Bajaj grew up in Lucknow and graduated in economics from Delhi University. She passed out with a master’s degree in rural management and another in environmental science. She worked in the field of environment and rural development before she became a writer. She is the author of Come, Before Evening Falls (2010), Another Man’s Wife (2012), In Search of Heer (2019), The Book of Bullah (2024). In June, Harper Collins India published her book Once Upon A Summer. She has also written two books for children—Elbie’s Quest (2013) and Nargisa’s Adventures (2016). Manjul’s work has been shortlisted for various literary prizes over the years. She currently lives in Goa with her husband, her two sons having flown the best. Catch Manjul Bajaj on Facebook
Date: 27th June, 2025
Title Once Upon A Summer
Author Manjul Bajaj
Price : Rs 499
PP: 368
