Publication Information

Mountains , Rivers and Soldiers 

     As Mani awakens early in the morning and lights a candle, he glances at the calendar hanging on the wall of his house in Elikkulam with great anticipation. It is January 1948, the ninth month of his wife, Mary's, long-awaited pregnancy. Sadly just a short time later, Mary dies giving birth to Mani's son.

    During the next fourteen years, Mani devotes his life to caring for Kunjootty. Unable to free himself from haunting memories of Mary, Mani lives a sad and lonely existence as he watches Kunjootty mature from a boy into a young man, After father and son eventually move and buy farmland in Thiruvampady, they are led into new challenges where love and enemies await. The legacy continues with the birth of Mani's grandson, Emmanuel, who reaches for his dreams and becomes a commissioned officer in the Indian Army. Torn between his love for his beloved and his homeland, Emmanuel soon transforms into a hero who sacrifies everything to fight for his beliefs.

     Set against a backdrop of villages, rivers and mountains in India, this historical tale highlights the importance of lineage and love as a family attempts to survive life's greatest challenges.

     Mountains, Rivers and Soldiers won the Abraham Lincoln Excellence award in 2020.