{"product_id":"where-god-began","title":"WHERE GOD BEGAN","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height:1.8; color:#333; max-width:900px; margin:auto;\"\u003e\n\n  \u003ch2 style=\"background:#6A1B9A; color:#FFFFFF; padding:15px 20px; border-radius:8px; text-align:center; margin-bottom:20px;\"\u003e\n    Where God Began\n  \u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    \u003cstrong\u003eWhere God Began\u003c\/strong\u003e is a powerful and moving account of exile, displacement and survival set against \n    the backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War. Through the journey of a young man searching for safety and belonging, \n    this novel explores the struggles of refugees, the loss of home and the uncertain paths taken in pursuit of a \n    better future.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003ch3 style=\"background:#2E7D32; color:#FFFFFF; padding:12px 18px; border-radius:6px;\"\u003e\n    📖 About the Book\n  \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    Suspecting that their son \u003cstrong\u003eNishant\u003c\/strong\u003e is becoming involved with the Tamil Tigers’ liberation movement \n    during the height of Sri Lanka’s civil war, his parents make a painful decision. They sell their land to fund his \n    illegal journey across the world towards the promised safety of Canada.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    What follows is a harrowing journey through uncertainty, as Nishant is passed from one immigration agent to another, \n    smuggled across borders, detained and repeatedly forced to start again. Along the way, he encounters countless \n    refugees from South Asia and Africa, each carrying their own stories of loss, survival and displacement.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    While refugee experiences are often told through the lens of life before leaving home or after reaching a new \n    country, \u003cstrong\u003eWhere God Began\u003c\/strong\u003e focuses on the difficult journey in between. Blending sharp humour with \n    deep compassion, the novel reveals the emotional and human realities of migration, identity and the search for \n    belonging.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    A striking work from one of Sri Lanka’s most celebrated writers, this book is a powerful reflection on exile, \n    memory and what it means to lose one’s home while searching for a place to begin again.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003ch3 style=\"background:#1565C0; color:#FFFFFF; padding:12px 18px; border-radius:6px;\"\u003e\n    ✨ Key Highlights\n  \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n  \u003cul\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eA gripping story of exile and survival during the Sri Lankan Civil War.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eExplores the struggles of refugees navigating uncertain journeys across borders.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eCombines humour, empathy and powerful storytelling.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eHighlights themes of identity, displacement, memory and belonging.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eA deeply human portrayal of migration and the refugee experience.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli\u003eWritten by one of Sri Lanka’s most acclaimed Tamil authors.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n  \u003ch3 style=\"background:#8E24AA; color:#FFFFFF; padding:12px 18px; border-radius:6px;\"\u003e\n    ✍️ About the Author\n  \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    \u003cstrong\u003eAppadurai Muttulingam\u003c\/strong\u003e is a renowned Sri Lankan Tamil author and essayist. His short stories in \n    Tamil have received widespread critical acclaim and have won several awards in India and Sri Lanka.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    His first collection of short stories, \u003cstrong\u003eAkka\u003c\/strong\u003e, was published in 1964. After leaving Sri Lanka in \n    1972, he spent twenty-eight years working across Africa and Asia, including assignments with the \n    \u003cstrong\u003eWorld Bank\u003c\/strong\u003e and the \u003cstrong\u003eUnited Nations\u003c\/strong\u003e.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    He returned to writing in 1995 and went on to publish more than twenty-five collections of stories, essays, \n    interviews and a novel. His work has continued to receive international recognition, including being a finalist \n    for the \u003cstrong\u003eArmory Square Prize\u003c\/strong\u003e for his story \u003cstrong\u003e‘Somewhere it’s Three O’clock Right Now’\u003c\/strong\u003e.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003ch3 style=\"background:#8E24AA; color:#FFFFFF; padding:12px 18px; border-radius:6px;\"\u003e\n    🌐 About the Translator\n  \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    \u003cstrong\u003eKavitha Muralidharan\u003c\/strong\u003e is a bilingual journalist and translator working in Tamil and English. She \n    has more than twenty-five years of experience in journalism and has extensively covered the Sri Lankan Civil War.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    She has translated important works between Tamil and English, including \u003cstrong\u003eAmma\u003c\/strong\u003e by \n    \u003cstrong\u003ePerumal Murugan\u003c\/strong\u003e along with Nandini Murali in 2019. Her work focuses on bringing significant \n    Tamil literature and stories to a wider readership.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003ch3 style=\"background:#F57C00; color:#FFFFFF; padding:12px 18px; border-radius:6px;\"\u003e\n    📚 Why Read This Book?\n  \u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n  \u003cp\u003e\n    \u003cstrong\u003eWhere God Began\u003c\/strong\u003e is a deeply affecting novel about the cost of displacement and the resilience of \n    those forced to leave everything behind. With its blend of compassion, realism and dark humour, it offers a rare \n    insight into the refugee journey and the universal search for safety, dignity and home.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Westland Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45491510771821,"sku":null,"price":499.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0702\/0445\/7069\/files\/71AACKhWQmL._SL1500_d56bec99-703f-48e2-9dfc-6752999e27b7.jpg?v=1784913094","url":"https:\/\/the99books.in\/products\/where-god-began","provider":"The 99 Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}