Siyama by Ajith Dharma is a poignant literary novel exploring friendship, trauma, identity, and resilience against the backdrop of religious extremism and societal prejudice. Set on a university campus, it highlights the power of human connection in overcoming adversity.
Book Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | Siyama |
| Author | Ajith Dharma |
| Publisher | Pegasus Publishers |
| Publication Date | 27 November 2025 |
| Language | English |
| Print Length | 144 pages |
| Buy Link | https://amzn.eu/d/ctTFwWo |
Introduction: A Quiet Story with a Powerful Voice
In a world increasingly fractured by religious extremism, identity politics, and social prejudice, Siyama emerges as a quiet yet deeply powerful novel that reminds readers of the enduring strength of human connection. Written with sensitivity and emotional depth, Ajith Dharma’s debut English novel explores how friendship, empathy, and understanding can cut through the noise of ideology and fear.
Set primarily on a university campus, Siyama is not a loud protest novel. Instead, it is an intimate, reflective narrative that examines how ordinary individuals navigate extraordinary emotional and cultural challenges in their search for belonging and truth.
Story Overview: A Friendship Beyond Boundaries
At the heart of Siyama is the chance meeting between Priyan and Siyama, two students whose friendship slowly unfolds against the backdrop of academic life. What begins as a casual encounter soon grows into a meaningful bond that transcends cultural divisions and societal expectations.
As Priyan and Siyama share academic pressures, intellectual interests, and personal conversations, layers of their pasts begin to surface. Their histories are shaped by trauma, resilience, displacement, and unanswered questions of identity. Through their evolving relationship, the novel explores how trust is built not through similarity, but through honest vulnerability.
The university campus serves as more than just a setting it becomes a microcosm of society itself, reflecting the tensions, prejudices, and unspoken rules that shape human interaction.
Themes: Trauma, Trust, and the Complexity of Human Relationships
Siyama delves deeply into themes that are both timely and universal:
- Religious extremism and false nationalism, and how they quietly influence everyday interactions
- Covert racism and societal prejudice, often normalized and overlooked
- Trauma and emotional resilience, especially among young adults finding their voice
- Friendship as a form of resistance, offering healing where institutions fail
Rather than offering easy answers, the novel invites readers to sit with discomfort, question assumptions, and reflect on their own lived experiences. The emotional strength of Siyama lies in its refusal to simplify complex human emotions or social realities.
Writing Style: Subtle, Reflective, and Emotionally Grounded
Ajith Dharma’s prose is measured and introspective. He avoids melodrama, allowing emotional moments to emerge organically through dialogue, memory, and silence. The narrative blends realism with reflective depth, often leaving space for the reader to interpret meaning rather than prescribing it.
The balance between truth and fiction is deliberate. The author openly invites readers to decipher which elements are drawn from lived experience and which are imagined—mirroring the way reality itself is often layered and subjective.
About the Author: Ajith Dharma
Ajith Dharma, a shortened form of Ajith Dharmakeerthi, brings a uniquely global perspective to his storytelling. Born in Sri Lanka, he completed his first degree in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s before moving to England, where he pursued an IT degree. He currently works as a business intelligence consultant and developer for a UK-based firm.
In addition to his professional career in technology, Ajith holds a degree in astrophysics, which he pursued at Queen Mary University, a detail subtly woven into the intellectual fabric of the novel.
Becoming a British citizen in the late 1990s, Ajith has lived across cultures, systems, and ideologies—experiences that deeply inform Siyama. This novel marks his first work of fiction written in English, and it carries a strong moral and humanistic core.
Through Siyama, Ajith Dharma confronts the dangers of religious extremism, false nationalism, and covert racism. He emphasizes that these forces affect people of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs—and urges readers to actively reject such “isms” in everyday social life.
Why Siyama Matters
Siyama is not just a story about two individuals—it is a reflection of the world many of us inhabit today. It speaks to readers who have experienced exclusion, misunderstanding, or quiet resistance. In an era dominated by loud narratives and polarized opinions, this novel offers something rare: a compassionate space for dialogue, empathy, and introspection.
Its strength lies in its humanity. By focusing on friendship rather than conflict, Siyama reminds us that personal relationships can be powerful counterforces to ideology and fear.
Conclusion: A Thoughtful Debut with Lasting Impact
With Siyama, Ajith Dharma delivers a poignant and timely debut that resonates far beyond its modest length. It is a novel that stays with the reader—not because of dramatic twists, but because of its emotional honesty and moral clarity.
For readers interested in literary fiction that explores identity, trauma, and human connection in a fractured world, Siyama is a meaningful and rewarding read.
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