Book: Snakes in the
Meadows
Author: Ayaz Kohli
Publisher: Rupa
Publications
Snakes in the
Meadows by Ayaz Kohli is begins in the year 1987 in a hilly village called
Pathri Aali in Jammu and Kashmir. Aptly titled, the book deals with the onset
of militancy, the suffering and the changes in the life of the people of Pathri
Aali as times progress.
The book opens with
a bull fight where the village head Haji Mir Baksh and his friend Avdal oversee
the event, hoping to win it against the neighboring village. Everything is calm
and happy with Haji’s son Aslam managing to win the bullfight. Later in the
evening, he regales his grandsons, Kabir & Riaz with old stories, and also
the one which made him a heroic figure in the eyes of the residents of Pathri
Aali. We are also introduced to Ashwar, who is a strong-willed woman of the
village and aims to become a teacher one day. As fate would have it, Aslam
falls in love with Ashwar, who rejects his advances and says that she’ll marry
him after 16 years or after she becomes a teacher, whatever happens first. With
the turn of events, the village court directs Haji Mir Baksh to marry his son
to Zaitoon, a woman who was spurned by her lover. A man of his words and asool,
Haji instructs Aslam to marry Zaitoon but he runs away from home to Mumbai.
On a parallel note,
we are introduced to the Army who is posted nearby at Jabari Hills. We meet Dr.
Himanshu, who is a doctor with the Army on a short service commission and later
becomes a crucial part of the narrative with his story intermingling with that of
the people of Pathri Aali. Another character we meet is Major Dharam Pal Singh who
symbolizes the people who abuse power and instead of being the protectors,
become the oppressors. This is highlighted through multiple instances in the
story. His lust for power, greed for money and stupor of having an upper hand
makes him commit unspeakable acts. Then we have characters like Altaf
Dastarkhan, Adalat Shah & Shaghir Khan whose lust for money becomes so high
that even patriotism becomes a commodity for sale for them. How greed becomes a
tool for corruption is another facet of life that has been discussed upon by
Ayaz in the book.
The book is
basically a social commentary on how life functions in the region of Jammu and
Kashmir under the constant threat of militancy. The book takes the reader
through the valley, both literally and figuratively, by introducing them to
happier times which turn into a downslide of bad times and finally coming back
up on a happy ending. Through the book is mainly focused on the state of
affairs in Pathri Aali and how the village handles the influx of militancy, it
also has, through the sub plots, commented on the psyche of the people in the
surrounding regions. With a commentary on the lust of money corrupting the army,
the merchant and the local people, it is well directed discussion on how we
have changed with the times. With each character getting poetic justice, be it
Altaf, Adalat or even Major Dharam Pal Singh, the author has emphasized on the
fact that greed always leads to corruption of the mind.
All characters of
the book are defined properly with the background of each one of them detailed.
The reasons behind action of each character can be understood and the psyche
behind making the character in that way becomes clearer as the plot progresses.The book spans
exactly 16 years, and ends on a happy note.
A pleasant surprise
was the name of Major Navniet Sekera who is quite an important character for
the climax in the book. As I suspected during the reading, and later confirmed
in the acknowledgement, it is inspired by the Supercop by the same name.
For me the book
deserves a 4.5/5.
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