PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST & POET

ANINDYO ROY’S THE VICEROY’S ARTIST IS A FICTIONALISED ACCOUNT OF EDWARD LEAR’S TRAVELS IN INDIA

- Anindyo Roy

THE VICEROY’S ARTIST: A Novel

By Anindyo Roy HACHETTE INDIA

Much childhood—and adult—delight can be attrib uted to a certain Edward Lear who conjured up, among other beings, an old man with a beard that housed “Two Owls and a Hen, Four Larks and a Wren”, often with accompanying illustrations by the poet himself. As if mirroring his imagination, Lear travelled widely, including to India. It is this latter, less-known story that Anindyo Roy has brought to life in The Viceroy’s Artist.

Invited by Lord Northbrook, the then Viceroy, to paint the Kanchenjunga, Lear came to India in 1873, with Giorgi Kokalis, who was employed to take care of him and with whom he shared a deep bond. As Lear crisscrossed the subcontinent, he maintained a journal, which inspired this book.

It was, however, “little more than fragmentary observations” and Roy has filled in the “gaps and silence” remarkably. The text, particularly the dialogues, flow with an ease and wit that feel characteristic of Lear.

Aging and unwell when he came to India, Lear was exhausted by the difficult journeys and sometimes officious bureaucracy. Although a guest of the highest echelons of the colonial hierarchy, he nonetheless questioned the enterprise. As Lear trundled across the country, he met a host of people, both British and Indian. He rued the fact that he was unable to learn “Hindustani”, but his openness and curiosity allowed an Indian aura to infuse his verses.