Úmluva s vodami – Verghese Abraham (2024)

Seventy-seven long years, South Indian Kerala on the Malabar coast, and three generations of a family suffering from a peculiar affliction. In every generation, at least one person drowns – and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from a Christian family, whose roots trace back to the times of the apostles, is sent by boat to meet her future husband, who is many years older. From this moment on, the girl – and the future matriarch of the family, known as Big Ammačči – becomes a witness to incredible changes throughout her extraordinary life. While wars rage in the world and India strives for independence, in her hometown of Parambil, roads and schools are gradually being built, electricity is being introduced into homes, and people are receiving medical care. And it seems that the reason why some members of her family have a mysterious fear of water may finally be revealed. The Covenant with Waters is an evocation of a vanished India, infused with knowledge, humor, and emotions. It is a celebration of human understanding, a story of overcoming boundaries across castes, the progress of medicine, and at the same time, a humble testimony to the hardships that past generations endured for the well-being of those who live now.