I kind of went more than a week offline to complete this book. After a hectic week at work and a couple of errands at home, I went on a mission to complete this book left hanging for a month atleast. I started reading this book while waiting for passport renewal and for odd reasons my application for tatkal got rejected. Actually I was questioned for the first time my lastname is my father's name and hence they can't renew my passport via tatkal process. After explaining the Assistant Passport Officer how father's name is chosen over caste names in Tamil Nadu as last name, he agreed to renew via normal process instead of tatkal. Though I portrayed TamilNadu a progressive state in the conversation, it's definitely casteist. Though I didn't like to identify myself with either the caste name or father's name, I was put in a position to fight for the father's name as last name. In a way it's my right. I went through an identity crisis when I started the book.
Now what does this have to do with the actual book? The whole book had such unconnected events, forcefully intertwined with a story. Characters were undergoing a similar identity crisis as me when I started the book. Anjum a enunch/hirja, Saddam Hindu lower caste baptised himself Muslim(is it baptised? why not - add more crisis), Zainab orphan having multiple mothers/fathers, Tilo orphaned, adopted by real mother (Tilothama reminds me of Kadhal Mannan actress- she had some connect in the movie with most of the guys despite expressionless blank face), Biplab, Musa, Naga each going through a crisis. If you hate the distractions in the brackets the book is not for you.
But the story never took front seat. It's the actual historical events that takes front seat. I see more Arundati Roy in each page than the characters. Till 30% of the book, I hated the author forcefully fitting things but the two 100 page chapters made me connect with the author and was able to complete the book this week. The book is a mess in chronological ordering, Memento is the closest to this chronological ordering. Story wavers from different perspective- first person to third person. Story is inconsistent in narrative and show don't tell style. Book won't pass any tests in the Write Club I used to attend. But its not a throwaway work. I don't think it's something a booker prize author would miss without a reason. Infact the book itself went through an identity crisis (similar to kuri-edu by experts in every movies these days)
The initial chapters where I felt disconnect was explaining the life of Anjum. I think it showed hirjas in the same light I see them. So probably I felt wasting I'm reading what I know and it was not inspirational to read as well. This thought slightly waned when I saw the Malayalam movie Home. The movie gave what I wanted. The father character who was ignored by his son(s) got the respect when he did some larger than life activity. But I was not happy with that as well. Because if a father has to do something larger than life to get son's respect, then there is something definitely materialistic in the son's love. In-fact it's not love. So I don't want Anjum to be inspirational but still I have concerns with those chapters. All critics of surroundings during those chapters were done not by the character Anjum but by the author. The author also went on a hatred spree against Modi, Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Manmohan Singh. Infact Medha Patkar was the one who was praised. This is all done by the narration and Anjum all through the story was not aware of who is who. I also felt Anjum was forcefully put in problems like why on earth she had to travel to Ahmedabad from Ajmer. But anyways the book covered a snapshot of Indian History from Kerala, Tamilnadu in South to Kashmir in the North, Manipur in the East, Gujarat in the west and Chattisgarh/Madhya Pradesh in the centre. So lets keep force fitting aside. Anjum could have been an intellect though my inner mind after Home says nobody has to pull larger than life character to get the respect they deserve. But the author could have shown transgenders as capable ones to be respected by the society than somebody who is against the society norms and leads a life in graveyard. I see more Arundati Roy when Anjum stands against the society and leads a life without caring others because its a revolutionary perspective than a common man's perspective. Somebody has to get the will to take a revolutionary stance which could be from either foolish hopes or hardened sufferings- Arundati didn't capture hardened sufferings- probably I needed more drama. The drama could have connected me more to Anjum. Infact I felt Arundati is not thorough with her knowledge on transgender than with the knowledge on environmental issues, saffron fundamentalism and other politics. Arundati showed Anjum less intellect because probably she is not aware of transgenders much. Wow the novel(/documentary/essay) raised my revolutionary instincts to question Arundati's intellect
Suddenly the story tilted to new set of characters set on backdrop of four characters. Two are from diplomatic quarters in NewDelhi, one malayalee in NewDelhi and one Kashmiri in Delhi. The novel covered Kashmiri lives much in detail. Arundati is definitely not naive here like she was with Anjum. And we see characters letting us explore Kashmir- be it a reporter, Intelligence Bureau, Militant, Public, love interests, rooster, army dogs, graveyards. Crux the author brings across is Kashmir is in tight grip of Indian army and people are clueless. The people want to get loans from Indian Government but also want Azadi. There is anti Shia force, friends of army force, force of Allah etc. Though it looks like fight between India and No God but Allah. There are more factions both sides. Some on Indian Army wanted to win by progress like building Gyms, library, engineering works, some wanted to win by fear. Similarly each of the fundamentalists had their own goal. If I get it right, Afghan may be a right example. The fighters had common goal to send occupied forces out. But then when the occupied forces are sent out, it will be fight among the fundamentalists. The casualities will be common public. Some common public learn to live, some support army, some turn fundamentalists, some hope Pakistan will save and many will die. There is no stop to this though. Like US leaving Afghanistan is no stop to their problems. Infact death of the US soldiers are not answered for the loved ones and they feel cheated. The most hardliner would survive and so far history had been the same. Whatever exists today has been hardliners at some point. Saivaites domination in TamilNadu, Muslim in North Kerala, Christianity in Konkan were hardliners. Kashmir is going to last man standing stage. The author captured the history of turmoil how things turned downhill in 90s when democracy was frozen in the state of Jammu Kashmir now the Union Territory of Kashmir. Slowly the militants came from LOC, had training centres locally to locals throwing stone at the army. Though Arundati is called anti nationalist, she calls out how army shows restraint and how sometimes they turn crazy only when provoked with bomb blasts. Infact army is descibed in better light than Special action forces doing all sorts of violence against Adivasis in the mainland. Calling "you come from India" in Kashmir is a right way to show how a simple sentence is a secession or treason.
I still felt the militants are shown a slightly lighter heart than army. Because Musa whose story we see as a militant looks like is somebody forced to take up arms and the army officer nick named Spotter is painted as playing a video game of killing Kashmiris as he pleases. Though there will be definitely both Musa and Spotter in real life, there will be Musa and Spotter in opposite camp as well. Though Tilo is subjected to sexual overreach by her superior in office and is evading it, why should she judge if Pinky(a commandant in army- or ACP) has to have an affair with Spotter. As much as Tilo is a progressive liberal woman, Pinky is one infact very few woman has taken up such roles. Might be the author feel such relations exist in army. Then it has to be shown in similar bad light as how Tilo is subjected to. This can curtail women in army. I don't if this is narrow mindedness of Tilo or Arundati or of general feminine race when they see an opposing powerful character. If Musa and Tilo can have an affair, why not Pinky and Spotter, why should that even need references. Or is it just my mind not going past it and Arundati thought it as a normal fact she is placing.
Still Tilo is designed as the typical pudumai Pen(modern woman) character but felt she is unsure what she is doing in life. But thats what if her life is who am I to judge her? There is a side story of Tilo's mom getting into COPD approaching death with gibberish. During her lost senses, she turned more casteist or rather purist(!). Six month before my grandfather went through the same arc. He was not casteist even then which I can say head held high. He forgot our home, maths(he was a financier), language but also the caste. He wanted to see me married probably I guess then he assumed I'm married. Infact I felt he didn't have a disorder, his experience helped him understand life and his exhaustion prevented him run.
If I can be judgemental, I can be harsh on Musa why on earth would he call his love interest to Kashmir when he is already in hiding, meet her, romanticize her(should revolutionaries be poetic and romantic), lead her to police abuse and then again meet her?
This is going to be incomplete. This stayed in my draft for a long time and never going to be completed. Lets rather publish it incomplete.
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