December 5th, 1655
Dakshin Bharatiya Empire, Vijayanagara State, Capital City - Hampi
Kavya sat in her studio in the palace, gazing into the distance, observing the people commuting in the streets and the carriages moving in an orderly manner.
She was lost in thought after what Vijay had said to her yesterday. She still vividly remembers the moment because she felt a heavy responsibility upon herself as soon as Vijay mentioned his idea.
It wasn’t that Vijay had forced something upon her; on the contrary, she loved the idea Vijay had given her. It’s just that the first task Vijay requested was a bit too stressful for her to complete.
A day ago...
"Vijay, are you sure that I can do this? Really? Are you sure you don’t want to let someone else complete the book you mentioned? Aren’t there many scholars in the Bharatiya Academy of Sciences? Can’t you use them?"
Kavya said with a panicked expression on her face. Although she found Vijay’s idea interesting, she wavered after considering her own abilities. She wasn’t sure whether she could do justice to the story Vijay requested. "Isn’t there Venu Das Kumar? Isn’t he highly learned in the art of language? Why don’t you use him?"
She spoke with a very earnest gaze.
Vijay shook his head in denial as he explained further. "No, wife. Being proficient in the language does not mean the person is artistic. What I want is a story from the viewpoint of a little girl from the city of Indore. You, being a woman, can fully capture all the emotions and intricacies of a girl experiencing a war, a war that has destroyed what she might have considered her whole world."
Vijay took Kavya in his arms as she began to tear up.
"Also, I feel that you can relate a lot to this character of the little girl since your kingdom was also destroyed by these Mughal invaders. So, I don’t see anyone more capable of writing this story except you," he added with a soft tone, gently caressing Kavya’s head.
Kavya, who remembered her hometown, couldn’t help but get emotional again. She dug deeper into Vijay’s chest, finding it comforting. At the same time, from listening to Vijay’s thoughts, she could understand his intentions quite a bit, so she reluctantly agreed, disregarding her fear of failure.
In a rare moment of arrogance, she felt that as the Empress, who would question her if her book did indeed turn out to be garbage?
Back to the present...
Currently, Kavya is sitting in her studio, deliberating the outline of the story. Vijay had only handed her the task of writing a novel depicting the life of a little girl in the city of Indore before and after the war, and finally her ending.
He didn’t give her any outline or ideas for the story, or as Vijay would like to call it, a novel. The only thing she was given was the military reports of the war and how it took place, which left her even more saddened.
But fortunately, after observing all these details, her determination to write this novel strengthened, and when she imagined an outline for the novel, inspiration poured out of her mind.
Kavya, finally deciding on the story and the characters, pushed aside the report about the medical academy lying on the table and started to write down the outline of the novel.
As for the reports, Kavya had already reviewed them. Unlike Vijay, she had ample time on her hands. Confined to the royal capital, she regularly examined these reports and offered her suggestions whenever possible.
She ensured that the training of the girls into capable nurses was progressing well, And according to her estimates, these girls were on schedule to complete their courses at various medical academies and would be ready to officially take their posts on various battlefields within the first week of the next month.
Returning to the novel, Kavya picked up the pen and neatly wrote down the title in the beautiful Bharti script.
"Black Sparrow on a Tree of Ashes"
Satisfied with the title, Kavya started to outline her novel. The title, "Black Sparrow on a Tree of Ashes," was chosen after much deliberation. The sparrow, a common bird found in the southern part of the subcontinent, particularly in the empire, symbolized the protagonist—an ordinary girl living under the oppressive Mughal Empire.
The sparrow’s black colour represents the suffering and pain endured throughout the girl’s life. The "tree of ashes" symbolized a haunting image: a little girl hanged on the wall of Indore, her face covered with ashes from the burning of her community.
With the outline of her novel complete, Kavya had meticulously planned to structure the book into five parts, aiming for a word count between 200,000 and 500,000 words. Despite her uncertainty regarding the final length, she was determined to imbue every detail with utmost care and attention.
For the first volume, Kavya titled it "Birth of a Beautiful Brown and White Sparrow."
This volume depicted the daily life of Geeta, a normal girl in the southern part of Indore, her life in the slum, and her parents and their hardships.
It also depicts how Geeta found happiness in the little things of life.
Kavya did not know why she was getting so much inspiration while writing the book. Various plots and stories were running through her mind, which she had never imagined before. Believing it was a divine revelation from God Durga, she continued to write the first volume with great excitement.
Unknown to Kavya, Vijay had already transferred a lot of great works of art and entertainment to her in the form of a knowledge seed. Although Kavya would not know the full details and the complete plots of all these works from the 21st century in his past timeline, she would immediately pick up on the plots and writing styles of the future.
Currently, the life of Geeta is heavily influenced by author Marcus Zusak’s famous work "The Book Thief," which depicts the story of an ordinary girl, Liesel Meminger. Liesel is a young girl who grows up with a foster family in Nazi Germany, and the story follows her experiences and struggles during the tumultuous era of Nazi rule.
Kavya took one full day to complete the first volume.
She was in excellent mental condition, and due to her motherhood, she felt she could be more sensitive in her writing.
She wrote the plot she saw in her head, cried for the child, and wrote again.
December 6th, 1655
The second volume of the book, which Kavya named "The Life of the Sparrow," depicts the story of Geeta growing up into an eight-year-old girl, how her perspective changed, and the introduction of her friends, some of whom were boys, but the majority were girls.
Unknown to Kavya, she took a lot of inspiration from the novel "The Book Thief," a book by Markus Zusak, which is about a boy from Kabul and his friend Hassan, which depicts the narrative of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the subsequent atrocities committed by the Taliban.
By the end of the day, Kavya was tired, but she had already completed writing 120,000 words in the two days since she began working on the novel. Fortunately, Vijay had handed over to her a lot of military reports about the war, so she did not have to research too much.
December 7th, 1655
The third volume, titled "The Desperation of the Sparrow," depicts the start of the war in the city of Indore, the desperation of Geeta and her community, and the actions taken by the Mughal Empire.
It also portrays the ruthlessness of the local Jamindar and the cruelty of the thugs during the war.
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For this, Kavya took a lot of inspiration from "Cry, the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton, which describes the social injustices and tensions of the apartheid era in South Africa.
December 8th, 1655
For the fourth volume, titled "The Sparrow Becomes Black," Kavya depicts Geeta being abducted from her home, the Mughal soldiers killing her family members as they resisted, her pain and hopelessness when she was violated, and finally her giving up on life after being hanged on the wall, with the ashes of her community drenching her face.
While writing this volume, Kavya’s heart tightened at every moment, tears constantly flowing from her eyes.
She could not finish this volume in a day, so she had to take three whole days to complete it.
Unknown to her, this was because she had taken some of the best plots from multiple award-winning and famous literary works from the 21st century. Examples include the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, "All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque, and "The Things They Carried" by Tim O’Brien.
In addition, she had once again drawn inspiration from "The Kite Runner," "The Book Thief," and "Cry, the Beloved Country."
December 11th, 1655
The final volume titled "The Sparrow’s Rebirth as a Blazing Phoenix," depicts Geeta being rescued by the Bhartiya Empire, her gradual recovery until the age of 16, and then her determination to show the world that she could fight back and defeat her fate.
Finally, the story ends with her becoming a successful businesswoman and a philanthropist.
As finishing touches.
"Written by Kavya Deva Raya," Kavya penned her name with pride in her heart, finally signing her first book. She leaned back on the chair in tiredness, but her face showed a satisfied smile.
The novel finally ended after 350,000 words.