books – Page 3 – Literature, Poetry and Reading.

*****

“Srinagar is a medieval city dying in a modern war. It is empty streets, locked shops, angry soldiers and boys with stones. It is several thousand military bunkers, four golf courses, and three book-shops. It is wily politicians repeating their lies about war and peace to television cameras and small crowds gathered by the promise of an elusive job or a daily fee of a few hundred rupees. It is stopping at sidewalks and traffic lights when the convoys of rulers and their patrons in armored cars, secured by machine guns, rumble on broken roads. It is staring back or looking away, resigned. Srinagar is never winning and never being defeated.”

A vivid portrayal of the sufferings of the Kashmiris, this book is a part memoir and part collection of reflections on Kashmir by Basharat Peer. This book chronicles his life and experiences in Kashmir from his childhood to his adulthood. Born in Anantnag, a teen aged Peer initially develops an interest in militancy considering the deteriorating situation in Kashmir but is soon discouraged to do so by his family. This was the time when many young boys crossed the LoC to receive training and arms from Pakistani terrorist groups. But only a few returned safe to their homes in Kashmir. The Government of India responded by adopting a heavy counterinsurgency approach to crush the popular armed rebellion against Indian rule in the region, deploying paramilitary forces to deal with the militants and more than often, the common man had to bear the brunt of the atrocities committed by both the parties- the militants and the military.

After Peer’s family is made aware of his interest in militancy, the Kalashnikov rifles, the dream of an independent Kashmir, he is called home from his boarding school. His father is an erudite government official who believes in the power of education, and this is what he had to say about his son’s interest in militancy-

“If you want to do something for Kashmir, I would say, you should read.”

That was all Peer needed to hear to curb his appetite for militancy and pursue his most powerful weapon instead- education. Soon, he leaves for Delhi to pursue higher education, getting his degree in law and later practicing as a journalist in the city. The novel also offers snippets of the Parliament attack trial of 2001.

After his parents’ narrow escape from a militancy bomb blast, Peer soon returns to Kashmir to report the chilling atrocities committed in Kashmir, the fear of militancy and the heinous atrocities committed by the Indian paramilitary forces- the “interrogation” center called Papa-2 which is a requiem of the holocaust, a woman’s wedding turned into a carnage, rape, wanton shootings of civilians, etc. There are also times when Peer does not criticize the Indian army but thinks of them as normal citizens doing their job. Although, I wish there were more anecdotes from the Indian paramilitary’s point of view and more about the pro-India Muslims and Kashmiri Pandits. Peer condemns the acts of militants as they killed hundreds of pro-India Muslims ranging from political activists to suspected informers for Indian intelligence. The militants killed hundreds of Pandits on similar grounds, or without a reason. Here’s a conversation between Peer and a member of the Indian paramilitary-

“The power of the caste system was evident in his first smile. He showed signs of relaxation and turned towards me. I talked about my friends form my Delhi University days. He was from Delhi University too. ‘I was in the law faculty, where were you?’ I asked. He had been in a college next to mine. I talked about the university, about the college festivals, the hangouts, the rivalries, the girls’ hostel nearby, almost everything one misses about university life. He seemed to have transformed into a Delhi University alumnus and forgotten he was an Indian paramilitary officer posted in Kashmir. His language changed as he spoke……’Give me a fag, man! And get me some tea,’ he smiled. We had tea and smoked. He apologized; the room full of journalists apologized back. Peace was made. As he began to leave, he said, ‘I was a different man before I joined the force and came to Kashmir.’ “

Peer ends his book with the hope that they (soldiers, militants, etc.) would cease being part of processes that reduced individuals to suspects or military targets, shorn of all human complexity; processes that left them with bare nomenclatures like militants, soldiers, paramilitaries. He hopes that some day they would return to their homes.

Concluding Thoughts

To be very honest, I had grown up with a sense of contempt for Kashmiris who do not want to be associated with the Indian State. It is only in my formative years that I was exposed to the other side of the story about the various atrocities carried out against Kashmiris by the State. This book played a huge role in shattering my chauvinism. I remember tears forming in my eyes when I read about the rape of a woman on the day of her wedding by the Indian paramilitary men and later, when I read about Papa 2- a torture chamber reminiscent of the gas chambers during the holocaust. Peer’s writing is lyrical and pulls you into the stories of the disappeared, the tortured, the neglected, the raped and more.

I was going through my bookshelf last week and the diversity of authors was disappointingly inadequate- most of my shelf is dominated by English, Indian and American authors. African writing wasn’t the first thing on my mind but since a friend suggested that I read Kenyan authors, I decided to pick up this book. This book was my second in African writing after reading Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie almost two years ago.

The book is a childhood memoir and captures the political, social and cultural vicissitudes of Kenya through the eyes of Ngugi wa Thiongo- a Kenyan writer and academician who grew up in Kenya in the backdrop of the Mau Mau rebellion against British invaders. (I just discovered that he abandoned English to write primarily in Gikuyu and Kiswahili, his native tongue, since his imprisonment in 1978. Mad respect for that one! )

The book touches on multifarious topics such as Catholicism, education, the importance of circumcision in Gikuyu culture and the contrast and conflation of reactions surrounding male and female circumcisions, colonialism and the Mau Mau rebellion, propaganda by the government and more. His tryst with learning begins after his half brother Kabae, an ex soldier returns home who was by far the best educated in the Thiongo family. (“This may have sparked my desire for learning which I kept to myself. Why should I voice desires impossible to fulfill?“, says Ngugi). His mother soon admits him to a local school and asks him to promise to her that he will never stop his education and that’s where his dreams even in a time of war start to take shape. She would often ask him “is that the best you can do? ” each time he would tell her about his academic achievements. He would find it strange that she was more interested in the process of getting there than the actual results.

The schools eventually were forced to follow a syllabus prescribed by the colonial government. Somewhere in the book, Ngugi is enthralled by the government newsletters and is horrified by the image of a few killings by the Mau Mau rebels. Ngandi tells him that it is all “propaganda”, a colonial viewpoint, and that the government presented Mau Mau actions as senseless and without reason.

I also remember one of his brothers being a Mau Mau rebel whereas the other one was a supporter of the colonial government and both of them come to wish him luck before his entrance test for high school. The book comes to an end, a new beginning rather for Ngugi with his admission into the best high school in the country and his mother asking him again if this is the best he could do, reminding him of the pact to have dreams even in the time of a war.

Concluding Thoughts

At times, I had to look up a lot of events and concepts such as a thingara, Jomo Kenyata, etc to fully understand the scattered events before me. I did not expect this book to be as good as it turned out to be but I got so choked up at the end and I just, loved it. There is too much in the book such as the history behind names, traditions, family, patriarchy, struggle for an education, a simple yearning for a mid-day meal or a train ride that I would not want to and I cannot confine to the finitudes of a review.

Category: books

Basharat Peer, Curfewed Night

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Dreams in a Time of War