The book under review is a novel in English with a title in Urdu which suggests that the targeted readership is the large number of South Asian immigrants scattered all over the world. But why the author opted to limit the readership this way one wonders.The novel centers round the distrust between a man and a woman who are bound together in a marital relationship, yet it seems that they never had the will or courage to understand each other. It is about — in the words of Australian Noble Laureate Patrick White (Man and Tree) quoted by the author as a prelude to the novel — 'just the business of two people discovering each other by degrees and not discovering as they live together'.
The story is about a Sikh family living in Kenya as immigrants. The protagonist Sarna Singh had a bit of a past which she hides from her husband, without ever suspecting that he already knows about it. Thus the author Priya Basil exposes the hypocrisy of a culture which shuns accepting one's reality. Though the first section is staged in Kenya, no glimpses of local culture or interaction with the local population have been provided.
The second section is staged in the UK. Here the lives of the immigrants are exposed in totality along with the numerous issues faced by the community. Basil presents a vivid account of her characters' lives by giving many details that are very familiar to us. Such as the clash of cultures which subdues the minorities and causes them to lose confidence, and the resulting complexes that sometimes lead to compromises even at the cost of one's identity. For example, Sarna and her husband compromise by cutting their son's long hair — a requirement of the Sikh creed — when they learn the reason for his disappointing performance in class.
The paper marriages performed to get British citizenship again expose the hypocrisy employed to safeguard values. However, the second generation of the immigrants has a more realistic approach towards life and does not believe in throwing the issues under the carpet to save false dignity.
At the same time there is Oskar, the Britisher, a man of great understanding, a saint like character who lives in his own world collecting stories from around and ultimately he himself becomes a character of his own story. He rescues the ill-fated family of Sarna Singh and pursues them to break the cycle of silence and face the realities of life.
There is a popular proverb in Urdu, 'Ishq and Mushq Chupa-e-nahin chupte' no matter how hard you try. So, accept reality and face it!
Basil's novel is entertaining with all the vocabulary of a Punjabi culture which the author has used freely. — Syeda Saleha
By Priya Basil
Black Swan, UK
ISBN 978-0552-77479-6
508Pp. Rs395
Scientists Are Human
The premise was intriguing; a book showcasing the human, and humourous, side of scientists. I pictured a series of anecdotes about famous inventors and thinkers smiling in the face of rejection and failure, and throwing one humourous retort after another at their detractors.
Scientists are Human is, in the main, a series of extracts from famous scientists' and philosophers' memoirs, or from the memoirs of their peers. Each scientist warrants a chapter of his own, of varying length, depending on how many vignettes the author has chosen to include. Each chapter is preceded by a short biographical blurb, which is followed swiftly on by extracts from said memoirs.
This is what I call a 'Bog Book'. What that means is that the contents are disconnected and not too long, making it an ideal accompaniment when answering in need of something to do to while away the time without getting, pardon the pun, bogged down in the text for any great length of time. As a rule of thumb the contents then need to be as diverting as, say, the average newspaper or comic book.
Unfortunately, that is not the case here. The extracts from the narratives (and I do hope that they were reproduced with permission, for they have been transplanted on an as-is basis) are neither very humourous nor, when taken out of context, all that diverting. Some famous names are mixed in with some slightly more obscure ones, making the biographical blurbs enlightening, and those should at least serve as a good basic grounding for the uninitiated into the achievements of some of the great minds of our time.
There is not much to be said about the writing style, as individual passages vary greatly. The layout is logical, and follows an approximately chronological sequence through the life of the subject. Mercifully, the passages are not too long but the repetitiveness takes much of the gloss off that.
The motives behind writing this book are not immediately clear. It does not really succeed in providing much of an insight into the witty side of scientists. It is by no means a scientific text, and nor is it an effort to explain the workings of the world of science to the layperson. Perhaps it is an attempt to demystify the realms of science, and provide a counterpoint to the world of mythology by suggesting an alternative pantheon complete with rich back stories, but if that is the case the effort falls way short. — Mansoor Murad
By Shuja Alhaq
Sanjh Publications, Lahore
ISBN 978-969-8957-46-9
446pp. Rs400
Bungalow 2
It was like a dream come true; she had always wanted to write a script for a film and here was her chance — to work for a film to be produced by one of the legendary producers of Hollywood. But she was reluctant. Despite being a good writer, her life revolved around her home, her husband and her kids — how could she leave them all and go to live in LA for almost nine months.
Once in LA, she was divided. She put her heart and mind to work but a part of her was always thinking of her husband and children. As her children learnt to live without her, she watches helplessly as her old life is pulled from under her feet. She is shattered when her husband betrays her.
In the character of Tanya Haris, Steel has woven a complex personality. Here we have a woman who adores her husband and children and is ready to not only sacrifice her career for them but also tolerates all their tantrums — even the rude behaviour and abuse by one of her daughters. She does not even blame her husband who pins his own waywardness on her absence. One might stop to wonder can anyone be so forgiving, or does she lack the guts to confront them?
Readers are told over and over again how much she loved her husband and children but after the husband deceives her and walks out on her she is easily wooed by other men.
While working on other movies, one of which even earns her an Oscar, she has a series of fruitless relationships, though all the while trying to maintain her connection with her children. One wonders is she so fallible or is she simply looking for happiness?
The book is captivating as Steel shows us different aspects of one woman's life and what she has to face in order to make her dream come true. But the story seems to drag in the beginning; the reader may feel bored reading on page after just how much she loved her home, husband and kids. Yet one feels like turning the pages to learn the fate of such a loving woman and feel her heartache as she comes to terms with what life has thrown at her. — Rizwana Naqvi
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