Shiva's Fire

I was very young when I read this book a few years ago - I think I was in grade four. It was probably the first real, good novel I had ever read, and it stuck in my head, popping up at irregular intervals. But life keeps going, we move on, and it started showing up less and less often... until I saw it in my new classroom this morning. I stopped for a second to read the back, and before I even got halfway through I knew I would have to read it again. It is an amazing book, a book about a young girl as she grows up not only struggling with the normal problems we all face as we get older, but with her commitment to her dance and the cursed blessing placed upon her. A beautiful book worth reading.

I enjoyed this book, the setting was lovely, the descriptions grand. The character was a little too unreal without a lot of grounding forces. The conflict at the end a bit forced, expected, and too easily resolved.

Parvati’s birth coincides with the day of her father’s tragic death by trampling elephants, the first day of a monsoon that cripples the village for years, and the sudden illness of the Rama’s son. Her aunt and the rest of the villagers regard her with suspicion and resentment. Her differences only isolate her further: she has a way of communicating with animals, staring into people’s eyes as if reading their souls, and a talent for dancing. When she is 9 or 10, a guru of Indian classical dance recognizes Parvati’s talent and asks her mother to let her live and be trained in dance at the gurukulam. It is over a year before Parvati returns home in triumph to perform at the Rama’s palace. While there she meets the son of the show more Rama and finds they share unique and unexplained differences. show less

Born during the worst storm ever seen by her small village in India, Parvati is both blessed and cursed with mysterious powers that confound her people. Wild animals flock to her; she is able to charm fish, birds, even deadly cobras. But Parvati's truly exceptional talent is her ability to dance like the Hindu god Shiva himself. At age 6, she hurls herself into a cooking fire and dances safely through the flames, emerging without a single burn. Naturally, these powers scare the other villagers. Only her mother Meenakshi loves and believes in her, protecting her from the their curious and hostile stares. The guru Pillai, a famous Indian dance teacher, hears of Parvati's talent and comes to offer her a position in his dance school, or show more "gurukulam," in the large city of Madras. Once there, she questions her destiny, or "dharma," as she experiences both a devastating loss and a blossoming romance; "...she thought about the mystery of dharma--how some things were very difficult to accept, while others opened as simply and as naturally as a flower." But through it all, the fire of Shiva burns within her, and Parvati knows that, despite all other callings, she was born to dance.
-Amazon.com

I've probably read this book 4 or 5 times. It's great! show less

This book tells the story of Parvati a born dancer. She has the gift to dance like the god Shiva, this gift earns her a spot at a gurukulan. There she quickly becomes one of the best dancers. In the story she learns about destiny and love.

RGG: Set in post-Gandhi India, a story of a young girl's dharma, destiny, to become a devadasi, a master of classical dance. Prose is interesting, plot line is targeted to 10 - 14-year-old girls.

LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!