Most people find history to be a boring subject. Because what we learn in school or college is focused on WARS ....WARS....and nothing but WARS..memorizing years, dates, names, political parties and so on. While we focus on these so called facts of wars, we always forget about the lives of ordinary people who were not directly involved in the wars but had their lives changed totally !
The glass palace is an awesome book which takes the readers to the streets to live with the ordinary people who had to flee their countries and with some who decided to stay back and face the harsh situations , also with The Royal Family in exile during the wars.
Historians do not think its important to tell the stories of people who were interrupted rudely by a bunch of officials who decided they should invade a country just at a time..when a women is pregnant awaiting a safe delivery, a man had worked so hard on his farm so he could earn a little extra to be able to send his children to a better school , a child who is just learning how to take its first steps and so on.
This book takes you across Burma, Malaya and India beginning in the year 1885 with two orphaned children, an eleven years old Indian boy who was stranded in Mandalay after his boat where he worked as a errand-boy needed repairs and the other is a Burmese girl who was then a maid to the Burmese Queen Supayalat. When the British invaded Burma and won the war in just 14 days , The Royal Family ( King Thebaw )were forced to be sent into exile to India together with some of their maidservants.
From here the story stretches to the next 3 generations and how their lives were determined by the waves of wars and brutal occupations. It will make you understand that merely being ambitious or having a passion will not be enough to live through such periods of time. Imagine the courage needed to wake up everyday wandering if your son or daughter got killed yet ! Not having any means of communication with your family members for years and years and growing old ..still wandering if your son is alive somewhere in another country. How excruciatingly painful every moment of wait will be ? While we could hardly wait to have our children come back from school safe, there were parents then who had brutally strong hearts to be able to stay oblivious to the danger faced by the children simply because they had absolutely no choice !
Life was merely about , who made it longer. Lovers torn between countries, parents dying alone, children hiding from enemies, even soldiers starving to death ! But in the midst of all the chaos across these 3 countries and over 3 generations, there were some who still managed to not only live it through but also follow their dreams. In this story theres a person who always loved photography and he lived up to the age of 80 in Sungai Pattani and succeeded in his career as a professional photographer. You have read it to see how difficult it must have been for all those people who lived through those years..
The book paints a complete picture of how life was during the British conquests and their interest in the teak trade and rubber plantations , also the fate of indian
peasants in their hands. Having been ruled by the British for 200 years, the Indians were torn between patriotism and loyalty. Indian soldiers who were sent to fight in Malaya were utterly confused about who they were fighting for, as it wasnt for their country nor their people but for the British. So many decided to leave the British army and join the Indian National Army.
Arjun who is in the British Army fighting against Japanese in Malaya...says :
" Just look at us Hardy, what are we? We've learnt to dance the tango, and we know how to eat roast beef with a knife and fork. The truth is except for the colour of our skin, most people in India wouldnt even recognize us as Indians. When we joined up we didnt have India in our minds: We wanted to be sahibs and thats what we have become "
Theres is SO much more in this book....in fact too much to be discussed over just one post...and what i loved most about it is that by studying individual lives we are able to learn more history than by reading any History book.
So , if you are one of those who hates history....do read this book and you will sure change your mind :)
