Cross-continental love: Rediscovering love in the valley of Kashmir with Monica Saigal’s latest novel

A Kiss in Kashmir: A Timeless Tale of Love, Saigal’s third novel, was released on Valentine’s Day last month.

When Anjali’s husband died in 2010, he left her with a company to lead and two thirteen-year-old twins to raise alone. Although only in her forties, she resigned herself to a life alone and focused instead on supporting her children and maintaining the family’s livelihood. She also didn’t believe that she would ever find another partner like her deceased husband.

“I was young and I was so lost without him and wondered what my life would be now that he was gone forever,” she said. “Would I ever find someone as good as him or better than him? He was my God and he treated me like his queen.”

Anjali’s story is not uncommon—particularly in countries like India which culturally frowns on remarriage even after the death of a spouse. The nation continues to have the lowest divorce rate in the world. Yet, according to a United Nations report in 2023, India is following a growing worldwide trend where adults over 50 are parting ways and, in the process, seeking more compatible relationships.

Once Anjali’s children were off to college, she, too, found herself seeking companionship as she got older. She was 55 when she began to consider dating with discouraging results. It wasn’t until a friend introduced her to a divorced professor that things began to turn around. He was 59 years old and had no kids of his own.

“We connected instantly during a four-hour phone call, and he met the condition set by my late husband: Prioritizing my twins,” said Anjali. Although she was nervous, she says she was hopeful about a possible match. He flew across the country for a brief visit and, despite their differences love blossomed. The two soon married.

RELATED: Seasoned with love: Acclaimed Indian American food writer Monica Saigal releases ‘A Kiss in Kashmir’ (February 11, 2024)

Later-life love, like what Anjali experienced, is not only on the rise but is the topic of an increasing amount of popular media. An older-adult version of the popular show The Bachelor, entitled The Golden Bachelor, featured a 72-year-old man looking for love among similarly aged women. The network has announced a spinoff called The Golden Bachelorette.

Also, in 2023, Meg Ryan and David Duchnovny starred in What Happens Next about former lovers who reunite accidentally in their golden years. The UK’s Guardian newspaper has enjoyed success with its column “How We Met After 60” recounting stories of second love, or reunited love, from around the world.

A much-anticipated addition to the ever-growing content about older romance is India-born, US-based writer Monica Saigal’s newest book, A Kiss In Kashmir, released worldwide on Valentine’s Day. It is the author’s twelfth book.

The book, which is set largely in Srinagar, is the story of George and Sharmila, who have both suffered the heartache of losing the loves of their lives. George’s wife died of heart disease while Sharmila’s fiancé was killed—or so she believes—days before their wedding. Left pregnant and alone, she is banished to America by her traditional, upper-class Indian family. There, on the other side of the world, she raises her daughter alone.

The couple meet in Kashmir where George lives near his dead wife’s family, and Sharmila is visiting in order to plan a wedding for her now-grown daughter because Kashmir was her father’s homeland.

For Saigal, the setting of the book is as much a part of the love story as the blossoming relationship between her characters—because of a powerful childhood memory.

A Kiss in Kashmir: A Timeless Tale of Love is on the stands now. Order your copy here.

“I first traveled to Kashmir as a teenager with my family. What I remember the most is the number of newlywed couples that were honeymooning in the valley,” said Saigal, who lives in the Washington D.C. area with her sons. “This image has always stayed with me – I have always associated Kashmir with love, which is why I picked it as the location for the book.

Saigal also said that growing up, Kashmir also became synonymous with love in her imagination because of its portrayal in Bollywood films as a paradise where epic romance unfolded against the backdrop of its breathtaking landscapes.

“The region is one that is also deeply complex, which allowed me to weave a narrative that challenges traditional perceptions of love—specifically who deserves it and where it can be found,” she said.

The author is no stranger to challenging traditional narratives. A noted food writer and cookbook author, she is also a respected writer of short stories. Her novel The Soul Catcher delved into magical realism while Karma and the Art of Butter Chicken deeply explored controversial themes including homosexuality, prejudice, eating disorders, and more.

READ: Chef Vikas Khanna pays tribute to author Monica Bhide Saigal with ‘Kiss of Kashmir’ dish (March 6, 2024)

In her newest book, romance among older adults is not the only thing that some readers may find unusual: The main characters represent an interracial couple. Sharmila is Indian while George is a White American. Saigal also explores the historical tension between Muslims and Hindus in Kashmir.

As with her other work, Saigal carefully researched A Kiss In Kashmir, conducting interviews with local hoteliers and tour guides in order to get the settings, seasons, and customs of the region right. But what might surprise readers is that Saigal’s newest novel was born from her own personal heartache after her own marriage ended in divorce after twenty-five years. Like Anjali, Saigal says she too believed that her post-marriage life would only center on her children and her work—and that would be enough. Once her children were grown, she began to rethink the social mores that say love is a “one-and-done” deal for everyone.

“There’s a pervasive myth in both literature and society that romantic love is the exclusive domain of the young and, more often than not, tragic,” said the novelist, referencing Romeo & Juliet as the most famous example of that idea. “I wanted to challenge that narrative, to offer a beacon of hope to those who find themselves yearning for companionship and love in the later chapters of their life.”

Through her journey of her characters George and Sharmila, Saigal hopes to reflect the message that love is ageless and boundless—and perhaps change some hardened cultural ideas in the process.

“At its core, this novel was born from a desire to explore and affirm the enduring capacity for hope and love in our lives,” she said. “Particularly as we age.”
A Kiss in Kashmir is available on Amazon.com