River of
my Blood: Selina Hossain: edited by Dr Pascal Zinck: translated by Jackie Kabir
Publisher:
Rupa Publications
Genre: Fiction
Extent: 215
pp
Price: Rs
295
Dangle:
Sutapa Basu
Publisher:
readomania.com
Genre:
Fiction
Extent:
252 pp
Price: Rs
250
Here are a couple of books that
deal with the human condition, in times of the war without and the war within
themselves. The jury may still be out regarding the real winners of the
conflict but there can be no doubting the intensity of and the passion involved
in the struggle, in both cases.
River of my Blood tells the story of Boori from
Haldi village in what was formerly East Pakistan; both the protagonist as well
as her village are swept into the maelstrom of the nine-month war of independence
that gave birth to Bangladesh in 1971, both learning the hard way to survive
and live to tell the tale.
Boori is an interesting woman,
with all the attendant desires and longings. She eyes the personable Jalil with
some interest but is married off to Gafoor, much older but quite caring and
protective. Gafoor has two sons, Salim and Kalim from his first marriage and Boori
tries, in fits and starts, to be a good
mother to the growing boys. Eventually, after a long period of hope interspersed
with despair, Boori gives birth to her own child, Rais. It`s a quiet life lived in relative
peace, and then of course, the peace shatters into a million little pieces.
Calls for independence from Pakistan rent the small country, young men eagerly
join to do their bit in the Muktijuddho, the war of liberation, and Salim is
one of those young men. The situation worsens by the day, rape and pillage
becomes commonplace and Boori hurriedly sends Salim`s wife Ramija to the relative safety of the latter`s father`s
house. She herself digs in, preparing for the worst even as her woman`s heart
has not given up hoping for freedom, for better times. And then, in a violent spasm that tears apart
Haldi village, the soldiers come back, looking for fresh prey, and Boori is forced to make an awful
sacrifice.
The latent resources, the hidden strength
of a village woman, is delineated well enough in the character of Boori. The
way she buries her secret dreams and goes with the flow in pragmatic fashion,
just as she handles each crisis, domestic and external, that comes her way with
courage and resolve, cannot but impress the reader. A land convulsed with pain
and violent conflict forms the backdrop of the novel and is sensitively
portrayed. However, the translation is extremely awkward and the usage of
quaint and not entirely the most felicitous terms (a fit of anxiety is termed
as pins and needles; this war is getting to my head, moans a character; neither
of them could wink an eye is meant to convey the sleepless state of a couple of
characters), does rather tend to put the
burden on the reader, the burden of sifting past these wince-worthy passages to
get to the core of the story.
Dangle, in comparison, is a smoother read. It`s a
contemporary tale of a lissome young lass who goes by the name of Ipshita, and
her attempts to carve a niche for herself in a winner-takes-all world. She`s
pretty, she`s successful, men woo her, she has a good line in repartee, she`s
not wet behind the ears, she seems reassuringly normal. To all outward
appearances, Ips is doing well, a
popular travel chat show host grabbing both attention and appreciation alike.
There is a close-knit support group who has Ips` back: a loving mother and
father, as well as friend Adi. Somewhere in the background, there is a loving
elder sister and her lizard-eyed husband. And so our girl careens around the
world, Chicago one day, Leimakhong in Manipur the next, a beach resort off Singapore
the next, doing what she has to do to earn a living, as well as meeting some
interesting if mysterious men like Amar and Steve en route. It`s a good life.
Seemingly.
Ips can tackle just about
anything; anything but the demons of her own mind, that is. Early enough into
the story, the reader is given a glimpse
into the turmoil of Ips`s mind, which is linked to a childhood trauma. There
are also a series of quick reveals of
just what causes those demons to raise their vicious heads on and off. Then
again, for a long while into this romance/ thriller, both the main character Ipshita,
as well as the reader, do not take these `squirming snakes` seriously
enough. Soon enough, though, they move to the forefront and the sympathetic
reader watches Ips try and tackle the critters to the ground. Does Ips succeed? Will she find love? Well, regardless
of what befalls Ips, you`ll find no spoilers here; to know more, you will have
to read Dangle. And while on that word, it is really a feeble connect
between the title of Ipshita`s story and the way she views life; it`s like the
author was first searching for an intriguing title and then joining the dots.
Books like these serve as
encouragement to writers who have a story to tell and want their voice to be
heard, and that has to be lauded. As someone or the other said, every story
finds its reader. And if the story strikes a chord, the book will then stay the
course.
Sheila
Kumar is an independent writer and manuscript editor, as well as author of a
collection of short stories titled Kith and Kin (Rupa Publications). She
blogs at
bindersfullawords.blogspot.com,
themelekatbook.blogspot.com
and bindersfulla.blogspot.com
http://www.earthenlampjournal.com/bookreview.php?review_id=85