Train to Pakistan: review

Book name: Train to Pakistan

Book author: Khushwant Singh





I knew this book is a classic, but given my delightment of reading a classic doesn’t always match the height of fame, I was not confident to pick this book up for a long time. But I knew I would have to try this book some time. I bought it from our trip to India, we stopped at a bookstore in Delhi. The shopkeeper looked at her book management system on the computer and a little bit more in the various shelves of the book cafe. Then when I thought she was not gonna find the book, she came up with a small paperback. That was it! I thought it would be heavier. Anyway, I was happy, it made room for our luggage to hold more books. I brought the book, kept the book in our bookshelf and forgot about it. Then a bland audiobook made me sick and I was in need of a great book. From the pile of books, I fetched this small paperback.

I carried the book on my commute, read it with my breakfast tea, on my way to work, and before sleeping. I slept less hours, thanks to the book. Now coming to the book itself.

I have read a few books on the partition of India, mostly by Bengali authors. And all those books were great! The topic of Partition has provoked many thoughts in my brain and it’s a favorite go-to historical item for me.

When we think of a time in history, we instantly map the time with the dominant historical events around that time. 1939- second world war started, 1947- India, Pakistan were born, around 1971 so many conflicts- liberation war of Bangladesh, civil war in Nigeria, Asian expulsion from Uganda - a few to mention. Unless you're affected by the horror, your life is probably more or less the same. You have an occupation, you eat, sleep, worry about silly everyday stuff, read the newspaper and comment on current affairs. You're indifferent to the fact that the present is turning into a big historic past. Train to Pakistan, seemed like a book that starts on that light of indifference. The heavy historical partition is shown from a shade. The village where the story begins is not far from the borders, but the villagers' lives are undisturbed by the chaos of Partition. To the people of “Mano Majra” village, Partition of India is just news, just like it is to us- it’s a topic to memorize for passing a history exam. Their lives are dictated by the norms of daily life. Silence in the morning is broken by the adhan from the mosque followed by the morning congregation at the Gurdwara. Women cook, men go to work, children play. Their lives are halted by the whistle of the goods train that arrives at the train station in the evening. People say their prayers, lies outside their huts to escape from the heat. And sleep until the next day it begins again.

There are four chapters in this novel and with each chapter, the story tilts towards the severity of the historic event a bit more.

The characters of the book are strong! Juggut Singh, the “daku”, an Iqbal (Mohammad or Singh), he can read and write English, eats with forks and knives, profession is social work. And Hukum Chand (I imagine him as a pot-bellied officer), who is smart (he actually is), climbs the ladder of class with their smartness and morality is something they leave before starting to ride the ladder.

The novel begins with a little disturbance in the village “Mano Majra”. We see the main characters in their respective traps. I won’t say what trapped them. But the traps were significant in the course of the story.

The story was brilliant!  And it is uncertain! Very much loved that. I expect classic novels to be boring, and I enjoy that too, if the book matches my taste. But this book was full of surprises! Partition is a very heavy topic to write about. But Khushwant Singh showed the depth of the tragedy, yet the book had humor! LOL… subcontinental drama never gets boring.

A few quotes-

"Morality, Meet Singhji, is a matter of money. Poor people cannot afford to have morals. So they have religion…"

With the monsoon, the tempo  of life and death increases. Almost everywhere, grass begins to grow and leafless trees turn green. Snakes, centipedes and scorpions are born out of nothing… At night, myriads of moths flutter around the lamp.

Well, a great book is rich with details! I remember “East of Eden” also depicted season change with a similar tone. And it’s a great quality of writing.

India is constipated with a lot of humbug. Take religion. For the Hindu, it means little beside caste and cow protection. For the Muslim, circumcision and Kosher meat. For the Sikh, long hair and hatred of the Muslim…

To no surprise, the book instilled thoughts and questions in my mind. Why was it so important to divide a land among people based on religion? It’s probably a combination of many things- but to sum up, this land has been inhabited by Hindus for generations. Muslim rulers came later and it was probably the lowest caste of Hindus who sought the new religion. Then when the British came to rule, most Muslim peasants were behind the Hindus in terms of gaining education and thus power. So when the British left, to “mass people”’s mind, it occurred that now Hindus might rule the rest of the population who were behind. And the Muslims wanted to exercise power or whatever and demanded their own land. As I am writing this, it doesn’t make sense to me. But I am a city dweller, fed well, slept well, have a job and have little power to choose a few things for me. For the mass people of India back then, I think they lacked a larger economy and greater drive in life. And without power in one’s own hand, lives get carried away and get dictated by a few decision makers.

I would appreciate the book for being able to create the tension of the Partition in the readers’ minds. If you wonder, how is it possible, how can things get so tragic, you should read this story. You will be able to understand one fact- we are both sides of the coin, depending on the situation. I have evil, and that side of the coin can be flipped at a particular sequence of events.

So long review for a small book! I would stop blabbering now, don’t wanna be late for dinner. And to you, grab this book, and I hope you enjoy an exciting journey with it!


Comments

Popular Posts