Snakes in the Meadows-Ayaz Kohli

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.