The document provides snippets of information about the novel #ThingsToLeaveBehind by Namita Gokhale. It discusses how the novel chronicles the legacy of the British Indian past through strong female characters and evokes the landscape of Kumaon. At the heart of the novel is a singular painting depicting love, longing, and courage. The novel brings the history of 19th century India to life, mentioning events like the beginning of rail transport and prisoner of war camps in the region.

2. Set in the years 1840 to 1912,
Namita Gokhale's
#ThingsToLeaveBehind
chronicles the mixed legacy of
the British Indian past

3. The strong and enigmatic
woman characters who are at
the heart of Namita Gokhale's
new
novel#ThingsToLeaveBehind

4. #ThingsToLeaveBehind by
Namita Gokhale evokes the
landscape, the ferns and flowers,
trees and clouds, of Kumaon.

5. At the heart of the novel lies one singular
painting: a portrait of love, longing and
courage.

6. Namita Gokhale's
#ThingsToLeaveBehind brings a
not-so-distant past to life.

7. The history of rail transport in
India began in 1853, forever
changing the history of the
subcontinent

8. At the turn of the earth, as we
usher in 2017

9. At the turn of the earth, as we
usher in 2017

10. I encountered this old
photograph of a hot air balloon
in Nainital, and it entered into
the narrative quite seamlessly.

11. Very few remember that
Bhimtal hosted a Boer prisoner
of war camp.

12. The fragrance of Jaba Kusum across the
centuries.

13. The sanctity of traditional textiles like the
Kumaoni Pichauras.

14. In #ThingsToLeaveBehind, Jayesh travels
to Bombay and buys a book by Rudyard
Kipling at the railway station.

15. I sent a letter to my friend.

16. It's difficult to reimagine today the
powerful impact that Pandita Ramabai's
book created when it was first published.

17. Charles Darwin's theories on the
evolution of mankind outraged some
traditional Brahmin households.

18. Raja Ravi Varma's evocative lithographs
brought affordable art to the Indian
household.

19. The camera brought in new ways of
seeing.

20. The novel has constant
references to the books people
were reading and writing
including the Golden Threshold.

21. The extraordinary figure of Micheal
Madhusudan Dutt features in the novel.

22. The Hindi serial novel
Chandrakanta by Devaki Nandan
Khatri, the first book Tillotama
reads.