Book Extract : Star-Crossed Lovers in the Blue By Rajesh Talwar

Star-Crossed Lovers in the Blue is the story of Utir, a mermaid and Arj, a merman who reside in the Newada Sea. The two lovers lead separate lives, beset with heartbreak, hardships and trouble, for many years before they encounter each other again. And, then a corona-like epidemic raises its head. A book that reflects upon importance of trust and makes us reflect upon ourselves as species. Talwar’s Star- Crossed Lovers in the Blue Releasing on 20 th July 2021. Here’s a sneak peek into the where it all starts.

The Mysterious Community of Merfolk

Once, in a part of the Indian Ocean, somewhere to the north of the Andaman Islands, in a region known as the Newada Sea, there lived a community of mermaids and mermen, collectively known as merpersons, or simply merfolk. It is true that the mermaid is half-human and half-fish in her appearance, just like her male counterpart, the merman. The upper part of a merperson’s body resembles that of
the human being – although the teeth are much sharper! The lower part of the anatomy resembles that of the fish. It is said by some, that these wonderful beings are more fish than human, for their hands and arms are webbed and resemble fins somewhat. They also breathe through their gills, like most fish. On the other hand, it can be argued that these graceful underwater travellers are more like humans for
their minds and hearts are just the same as that of humans.

Merfolk have lived underwater in the world’s seas and oceans for thousands of years, but there are a couple of things that humans have got wrong about them. For instance, the idea that mermaids fantasize about becoming human is just nonsense. A young man may fantasize that a beautiful mermaid may fall in love with him, ignoring all the mermen who live in her community, but this is a pipe dream and and completely unrealistic. Ask yourself this simple question: how would the community of merfolk survive and thrive if mermaids kept falling in love with humans and running away to live on land?

The second fallacy is the assumption that this wonderful species approximates to the human size, roughly speaking, whereas the truth of the matter is that merfolk are tiny beings which is the reason that humans encounter them so rarely. Our story here, in the main, concerns the lives of two underwater lovers called Arj and Utir, who, as you will see, travelled quite a bit in the world’s oceans.

Publisher : Bridging Borders

(Carried with due permission from the author)