Jasmine has indicated that the beginning of her novel opens in the early
1990’s in the heart of Bombay where young Peter and Anna are neighbours
residing with their families. They live
in the Billimoria Building, ensconced in the Catholic ghetto. When Hindus
destroy a mosque in the distant Indian state of Ayodhya, riots explode in
Bombay, the worst the city has witnessed.
The primary characters in her book, Peter and Anna were just twenty one
and sixteen years old as they are caught in the explosion while their families
take on the task of sheltering a Muslim neighbor. Amidst this turmoil and tragedy, Anna’s
family migrates to Canada and she is separated from Peter, just as their love
blossoms.
Fifteen years later, Anna returns to India to claim property she has
inherited. For an instant, she believes
she may have a second chance with Peter, but sectarian violence builds walls
between them once again. Anna and Peter
are faced with difficult choices as past, present and future frame a powerful
portrait of a city, a people in crisis and of two conflicted lovers.
Amongst passages in her book, Jasmine speaks about the politically
charged era of the 90’s and wonders if citizenship in India meant
anything. She questioned do we have
citizens or only private inheritors of all that is “Indian”? She believes that history has always been
political and written by the dominant group and in her book she questions this
type of mindset.
Jasmine is Toronto based and has been published and reviewed nationally
and internationally. Her first book,
Curry is Thicker than Water, was long-listed for the Frank O’Connor prize, and
nominated for the White Pine Award. Her
manuscript for what would become A Matter
of Geography was short-listed for the Tuscany Prize in 2015 and her short
story was shortlisted for the Dastaan International Prize (2015). She is the past Writer-in-Residence of the
Heliconian Club, Canada.
Jasmine writes to live and lives to write as she believes writing is a
continual learning curve and she’s not about to cease to learn.
For more information or to order Jasmine D’Costa’s book, A Matter of Geography, the
book is available on Amazon.ca, Indigo and at independent book stores or contact the publisher, Matthew Goody
at: (905) 825-2130 or by e-mail mcgoody@gmail.com or visit Mosiac Press’s
website:
www.mosaicpress.com/product/a-matter-of-geography/
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