India, late nineteenth century: a magical and mysterious place in which countless cultures and religions coexist under the command of an increasingly crumbling British empire. On the outskirts of the big city, Nagesh, a young pariah who had already lost his mother at birth, sees how his father is murdered by two bandits who assault his hut in the middle of the night. Alone and disoriented, he wanders along roads until he reaches a Christian monastery whose monks pity him and give him shelter.
Safely behind the thick stone walls, Nagesh grows and is educated in the bosom of a peaceful monastic life that quenches his thirst for revenge. However, the forced confinement to which he is subjected by the bishop who commands the congregation becomes unbearable, especially after a furtive break in which he meets Shefali, a beautiful Hindu girl who sells flowers at the market. But no matter how much pressure they put on him, the religious can no longer yield; he fears that the boy will discover the sickly secret that holds the past, and with it, the designs that show the books, temples and constellations that light the sky come true.
Nagesh observa el cielo nocturno a través del pequeño ventanuco que hay abierto en la pared. Sería difícil precisar el número de horas que puede haber pasado a lo largo de su vida tumbado en su cama contemplando el firmamento. Él sabe que cuando cae la noche y el mundo se tiñe de negro, las criaturas más peligrosas del bosque salen a cazar, y es tiempo de resguardarse y esperar con paciencia a que vuelva la luz de un nuevo día. Solamente el cielo ahí fuera, aún contagiado de esa tonalidad siniestra que le rodea, se mantiene apacible y sereno, y se puebla de luces blancas que mitigan las tinieblas desparramadas a sus pies. Así queda preservado el equilibrio universal que existe entre el bien y el mal, entre lo puro y una turbiedad cegadora, y la vida puede continuar de ese modo su lánguida y anodina decadencia. Es algo que Nagesh sabe muy bien y por eso espera, protegido al amparo de la luna y su deslumbrante séquito de estrellas, a que el sueño le arrebate poco a poco la consciencia.
| Language | Status |
|---|---|
|
English
|
Already translated.
Translated by Elii McGrew
|
|
|
Author review: Fantástico trabajo, en plazo y con una calidad incuestionable. Ha sido una suerte contar con Denia. |
