With all the news in and around social as well as mainstream media, what happened in Kashmir in 1990 is no longer just a story. Its pain and agony is felt across generations. One can do justice to a story on the subject only if they've gone through it or seen it closely. This novel, named after the subject, reveals more about what happened before and after the tragic year of 1990 and how it affected scores of families for whom Kashmir was their home.
The story is that of a Kashmiri Pandit, Shiv, whose life turns upside down and everything looks bleak after his family is forced to leave Kashmir. The family not only loses their home but also a family member and the pain and trauma they go through is immense. Slowly and steadily, our protagonist regains his foothold after losing out briefly to wrong elements and bad habits. While he works towards his studies and attaining his degree, he also tries to find the lost elements of his life that got left behind in Kashmir, most importantly the girl he loved and longed to be with. The story even covers a bit of the Mumbai riots of 1993.
The two backdrops of this story are intense and the writer manages to reveal the pain and trauma through his pen. The characters are sketched well and grow as the story advances. Though the story does not delve much into what exactly happened in 1990 and the massacre that happened then, it focuses more on how lives were affected and how families lost everything they called their home for generations.
Well written and fast paced, the story will go well with youngsters. If you're looking for a fresh story with real incidents, pick this one and you'll not be disappointed.
A teenage romance (if you may call it so), this book is an ideal read for youngsters in high school or early college years.
Ashwin, our young school-going hero is smitten with love at first sight. Thereafter begins his pursuit to gain the attention and consequently the friendship of his love interest. While working towards that, he also gets over several of his own inhibitions. The love story, however, ends even before it begins due to a misunderstanding. To get over all the pain and trauma, he decides to go to another town for a while where he falls in love, all over again. This time, the love story does take off but again ends sordidly, much to the pain of our hero. Amid all this, he has a friend who steadfastly stands by him, assuring and helping him all along. And as he tries to pick the pieces of his broken relationships, he discovers a big secret, revealing how all along his life had been played with and smeared with jealousy and one-sided love.
A typical teenage crush story we all would have either gone through or read and heard about numerable times. The writers have built a story around what one would call a regular teenager's life. While the characters have been briefed well, a few descriptions do seem inspired from a typical Bollywood movie script. The settings are etched out well, though rather lengthy at several places. However, few characters seem out of place due to lack of proper introduction while others have been dealt with a little better.
All in all, this would appeal to young readers and those who like quick reads with no heavy baggage to keep after reading. I'd not say that the story lingers for long in your mind after reading, but it is a good effort nevertheless.
When what would seem like regular mundane details of life are interwoven with fine words, stories come alive. Rukhsat is one such collection of stories. Whether it is the characters portrayed so intricately in each story or the plots, there awaits a surprise in each.
Moreover, many stories are linked together in a beautiful way. It's like reading another perspective of the same story. The tales revolve around life and death, love and loss, and friendship and jealousy. One story would take you to a point in time in the life of the respective character and then another will tell the same tale, albeit from the perspective of another character from the previous story.
Every story is told in a mystical and yet evocative manner, which would leave the readers looking for more. Whether it is Varun, Lotika, Manu, Siraj or Zayan, every character grows on you. They don't seem to be from another world, but someone living next door, people we see and may be acknowledge every day, and yet wouldn't expect that they'd have a story to tell.
Rukhsat leaves you looking for answers as you dwell deeper in the messages it conveys in an ever so subtle manner. It makes you think and introspect. In one word, it's unputdownable!
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