Women Dreaming - Salma

Read it

Fiction

Women dreaming is quite an interesting read. It's been a long time since I have read an author who is so blunt (without romance or lament) about the condition of women - in this case Muslim Women in India. It's a novel, so fiction, but I could relate to the characters so well, I felt like this could be the case in any Muslim home in India.

Salma's characters aren't stereotypical. Her main character leaves her husband after he takes a second wife. Her sister in law was rejected and sent home from a marriage after her husband was not able to have sex thus she was rejected as being barren (he most likely was gay). Her mother is lost in an angry sad world where she needs to cry and shout about everything. Her husband is so angry that she stood up for herself, he takes it upon himself to make the rest of her life hell by separating her from her children. 

All of this takes place in a village. It could be any village - the small mindedness and judgmental nature are universal. The author also takes pains to demonstrate how self righteous, religious people (in this case a man) are much more interested in controlling and limiting women rather than in the actual religion. It's a refreshing honesty. Salma's main character isn't a heroine. She falls into a pit of despair and dissociation. Yet you can't help admiring her for making her own decision and living her own life in spite of so many obstacles. And you feel sorry for her because even after she does, she's not able to find happiness or even peace. The children can't decide who to support or put up with because both houses become toxic. The author also takes pains to point out how shackling one generation of women makes it's way down other generations as well. Women themselves encourage these limitations because they don't know or can't imagine any other way.

It's a sad novel, but a reality for many women and helped me appreciate exactly how my separation could have gone. I hope those who need inspiration to get out of intolerable situations read it and take hope from the main character and see the importance of finding happiness after life changes and things don't work out how you hoped or expected.

Read it.

~Becky~

Sunlight on a Broken Column - Attia Hosain

Fiction

Read it

One of my favorite parts of books is the introduction - and even better an explanation of the author. They help open up the author's world to the reader. I had never heard of Attia Hosain before I started reading this novel. To say the least, the introduction on her was intimidating and I very much looked forward to reading her one and only novel. Anita Desai, another favorite authoress of mine wrote the forward which helped me on my way through the novel. When one investigates Indian novels, and if he or she is careful, the nuances of different locations and sub-cultures soon becomes very easily seen. This is very easy to see in Hosain's novel.

Sunlight on a Broken Column follows a young Muslim girl and her family from British era Lucknow to more modern times. The family struggles to change from a house where ladies are in purdah to learning to accept new norms. To say the least, it's not an easy transition and many struggle. It's difficult to avoid certain stereotypes when one talks about the Muslim community in India, however some of those spring from history and it's good to look at the historical attitudes to understand current culture. Hearing this from someone in the community, and in my opinion a neutral person, helps the reader get an accurate picture.

If my description doesn't tell you too much, it's because the author portrays ideas and everyday life. There's no story arc per say to follow. It's just everyday life and how it slowly changes. While this isn't always easy to follow, it's culture rich. 

I wish Attia Hosain had written other books. I would have like to delve a bit further into her mind.

Read it if you have the time to wander slowly and contemplate the breadcrumbs and cultural tidbits she lays out for you to find.

~Becky~

Mrs. Ali's Road to Happiness - Farahad Zama

Fiction
Verdict: Good time pass

With the enforced lockdown of Bangalore, I find myself with much more time to read these days. As Justbooks showed up unexpectedly at my doorstep the day before the lockdown began, I found myself with 2 new books to read. Not that I wouldn't have had plenty anyhow next to my bed, ha!

Anyhow, I started on Farahad Zama's novel. Set in Vizag, one of my favorite cities, the novel takes us through some hot button topics. The novel centers around an older couple, Mr. and Mrs. Ali. They are average, ordinary, middle class and middle road Indian Muslims. No surprise, the novel is about that segment of society here. The author is obviously writing for an international audience, as many of the community specific words uses are immediately explained after. This is both helpful and a bit irritating.  I also kept waiting for the Telugu influence to creep into this book as they are all Telugus, but this never made an appearance.

The author had me thinking about adoption in India as well as community sentiments. I had not thought on this before and it was an interesting window into the difficulties some people face with adoption, and how strongly others feel they have a right to enforce their culture and beliefs on others.  Even the police are not interested in legal papers when an election is coming and someone has used their influence to get into someone's business. 

The adopted boys mother was not able to change her circumstances in the end other than moving to Mumbai (where people would hopefully mind their own concerns), but she still was refreshingly outspoken and did not allow herself to be walked over or controlled. The gathering of family behind her in support also was a very heartening thing to read. 

The novel ended up with everything ending well and neatly wrapped up, leaving me with a very unsettled feeling as this is not something Indian authors do often, nor was it particularly realistic in the context of the issues of this novel. 

There's nothing earth shattering in this book, but it does make one think on certain issues and how they could possibly affect us one day. It attempts to make Islam and Muslims accessible to those who aren't familiar, and does it in a lovely non-preaching or moralizing manner. All in all, a good way to pass an afternoon.

~Becky~

Do You Suppose it's the East Wind - Muhammad Umar Memon

This book is a collection of stories that started in Urdu - a language that is a mix of Hindi and Arabic and used by the Muslim world across India. Urdu has it's own colloquialisms and culture that I was fascinated to explore.

I don't know if I walked away with an increased understanding of either one, but it was still an interesting collection of stories.

Verdict: Read it.

Stranger to History - Aatish Taseer

Aatish Taseer takes the reader on an abridged tour of the middle east in an effort to understand the religion and culture of his estranged father. Taseer has an interesting viewpoint in that his mother grew up in a Sikh family. A man searching not only for the identity and support of his father, but also for a culture in a house that has always had two.

Of course it didn't really bring him closer to his Muslim Pakistani father even if it did help him understand himself, which is generally how these things go.

That being said, it's an interesting view into the different subtypes of Islam. I think it may interest a Muslim more than non Muslim, but it's still interesting to read.


Verdict: Read it.

Blood Brothers - MJ Akbar

I'm not quite sure why I picked up this book, but I'm glad I did. I tend to favor family saga stories that span for a few generations and cover the culture of different countries. This is one such book.

Blood Brothers focuses on a Hindu orphan who wanders into a small village outside of Calcutta and is taken in by a Muslim family that owns a tea stall. The boy eventually converts and builds his own successful business and home in the village. His own children's lives and current events are included.

The time period for this book is during the Partition of India and Pakistan, which was a notoriously difficult time for India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Neighbors that had always lived side by side with respect found themselves swept up in waves of suspicion, bigotry, and violence.

It serves as a very sad reminder of how changing tides of opinion can sway even the longest acquaintances.

This book is definitely worth the time. You'll learn about Bangladesh and some of the hatred that haunts different communities to this day.

Verdict: Read it!