Kitne Pakistan - Kamleshwar (Hindi)
My Rating: 5/5
A few years back, I decided to read at least 30% of my books in Hindi from a full year’s quota of 52 (minimum). And I am super glad that I did that, all thanks to legends like Kamleshwar, who have written such beautiful, heart-touching, engrossing and time-relevant stories like “Kitne Pakistan”. Incredible book that was first published in 2000, which takes a dig not only at the current scheme of things but also at the Mughal and British invasion too. It starts like a simple love story of sorts, but the reality hits the reader hard when we realise the time period of the story, as it starts a month before the partition of India and when the first Pakistan is made. Trust me, my post does no justice to this gem of a book, which was hardly 350+ pages but covers at least a good 400 years of our own history in an angry young man’s style. Kamleshwar’s words and language are fierce and show his anger towards all the wrongs we humans have done to each other. The way Aryan’s came to India in so many forms, sizes and from different cultures, we embraced them back in the day, but the way they changed it all was totally unbelievable, and see where we stand today on the cusp of a civil or, say, religious war, which now seems inevitable.
Imagine there is a court of law and all the culprits from our history are summoned to tell their own truth and stories, including but not limited to people like Gandhi, Mountbatten, Nehru, Hitler, Spanish adventurer Hernando Cortez, Saddam Hussein, Babar, Aurangzeb, Humayun, Shahjahan; even Dara Shikoh has nice detailed chapter(s) dedicated to him, his siblings and father too. Now imagine the situation of the unnamed Judge who mulls over the casualties of Kurukshetra, Kargil, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Nazi Germany, East Timor, the Aztec civilisation and mythological Greece to Bosnia. The most interesting is the case of the Babri masjid demolition to the start of the making of Ram temple is covered in great detail. How Babar covers his ground and pleads innocence was an eye-opener. I am sure Kamleshwar has done his own research on the claims that he has made in this book; I am sure of that, as this one is pretty famous and so far, I haven’t heard anyone criticising his claims or shooting them down. I love the way he uses Pakistan as something two warring countries create, especially the way things are going globally; there are so many Pakistans being made because of neighbours fighting each other or because of civil unrest in so many countries. Millions of innocents are not only losing their lives in the situation but also going homeless and struggling to survive was so true. The painful journey of leaving everything behind, starting their lives in an alien country from scratch, was so heart-touching. Especially the way that love story in the initial chapter comes to an end on the last page of the book; I just simply couldn’t predict that, and it was such a huge shock to me.
Do let me know if you have read this one from Kamleshwar or any other work from him that you loved big time. I have read a few, but certainly looking forward to so much more from him now.
No comments:
Post a Comment