Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar – Book Review

Title: Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame Author: Supriya Kelkar Publisher: Tu Books Release Date: February 23, 2021

In India 1857, rebellion is spreading against the East India Company and the colonizers it has brought to the country. Meera and her family seem safe from the growing threat of violence in their small village. Meera, twelve years old, is about to be married and move into her husband’s house. Her strict, religious family has determined this future since she was born. Then, on her wedding day and thirteenth birthday, her husband’s family delivers devastating news: her soon-to-be husband is dead, killed in a riot in nearby Delhi. Although this initially may seem like good news to Meera, her father is intent that she follow their religious beliefs and commit sati. When her husband is burned on his funeral pyre, Meera is to end her own life and join him in the afterlife. Unable to accept this expectation, Meera runs away. Not long after, she is forced to become a servant in a British East India Company’s officer’s house, along with another young girl, Bhavani. While Meera adjusts to this new life, her friend Bhavani tries to encourage Meera to seek independence and freedom by joining the rebels in their fight against the East India Company. Over the course of several months, Meera’s outlook changes as she faces the reality of life in colonized India. What she does with her new perspective is put to the test when she has a chance to fight back with the rebels.

Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame by Supriya Kelkar presents an honest examination of the East India Company’s colonization of India. Through Meera’s young eyes, Kelkar peels back the complex layers of the region’s cultures and peoples, and the devastating impact the colonial era had on them. Often romanticized in literature, the time period was actually quite tumultuous and destructive. Kelkar deftly captures the complexity of the time period and conveys it in a way that would be understandable to a younger audience. Still, Kelkar does not shy away from the racism, misogyny, and violence that dictate life for Meera. In doing so, readers will be left to grapple with poignant questions about colonization and its effects on the colonized. Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame takes on a challenging historical era from the perspective of the colonized, giving voice to those that have, for too long, been left silenced in the margins of historical fiction.

Educators looking to teach historical fiction in conjunction with a History unit on colonization would benefit from using Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame as a core text. Oftentimes, colonization is taught from a Eurocentric lens, and Kelkar’s novel switches the perspective from the colonizers to the colonized. Such a change can be a powerful way to bring the devastating effects of colonization to light and give voice to historical narrative that has been long dominated by colonizers. Such a curricular experience would surely open many avenues for rich and thoughtful discussion about this history, its portrayal, and the importance of incorporating all perspectives, especially the marginalized, when seeking to understand it.

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and publisher, Tu Books, for an eARC of this book.

Classroom Applications

• Cross-curricular Study – Teach the novel in conjunction with a nonfiction study of colonialism, especially of India in the 19^th
• Book Pairing – Teach this book in conjunction with a novel that takes place in India around the same time period but from a different perspective.
• Literature Circles – Use novel for small groups or choice reading with a variety of novels take place across the globe and have strong female protagonists facing discrimination.

Nonfiction Connections

The list below outlines topics that will enrich your students’ understanding of the novel.

• History of India
• Colonialism & India
• East India Company

Book Companions

The following are great books to pair with Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame. In parenthesis are the specific aspects students could explore when synthesizing across the texts.

• Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
• The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)
• Treasure of the World by Tara Sullivan (Character Connections, Themes, Nonfiction Connections)

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