Snakes in the Meadows on Goodreads
BOOK SUMMARY:
Jammu and Kashmir, 1987. In the hilly village of pathri Aali, where legends appear true, Aslam and ashwar, two young lovers, dream of marriage and of good things of life. But that is not to be. Unable to cope, Aslam leaves pathri Aali forever. Years later, as men migrate to Saudi Arabia for employment, pathri Aali is populated mostly by women and children. Soon they realize the mujahedeen, who guise themselves as their liberators, are the worst perpetrators, and misery seems inescapable. Ashwar refuses to be cowed down by this reign of terror and is determined not to let it devastate the once-peaceful village. The only one she can Bank on is aslam—and she calls out to him across the distance of time and space, to return and live up to the legends of their village. Snakes in the meadows is a saga of the onset of militancy, and the suffering and the resilience of pir panjal—the ‘and’ of Jammu and Kashmir.
BOOK SUMMARY:
Jammu and Kashmir, 1987. In the hilly village of pathri Aali, where legends appear true, Aslam and ashwar, two young lovers, dream of marriage and of good things of life. But that is not to be. Unable to cope, Aslam leaves pathri Aali forever. Years later, as men migrate to Saudi Arabia for employment, pathri Aali is populated mostly by women and children. Soon they realize the mujahedeen, who guise themselves as their liberators, are the worst perpetrators, and misery seems inescapable. Ashwar refuses to be cowed down by this reign of terror and is determined not to let it devastate the once-peaceful village. The only one she can Bank on is aslam—and she calls out to him across the distance of time and space, to return and live up to the legends of their village. Snakes in the meadows is a saga of the onset of militancy, and the suffering and the resilience of pir panjal—the ‘and’ of Jammu and Kashmir.
Release date: May 20th 2019
Published by: Rupa Publications India
Page numbers: 288
REVIEW:
Because it is set in the troublesome and terrific Jammu and Kashmir, Snakes in the Meadows demanded to be read. Set in the village of Pathri Aali in Kashmir, this is Ayaz Kohli's debut which is the story of Ashwar and Aslam, two lovers separated by the condition and situation in their hometown.
For his first novel, author Ayaz Kohli has done something tremendous by describing the raw and real stuff that happened and still continues to happen in villages that are forgotten. With no media coverage whatsoever, the people of Pathri Aali have to depend on themselves to save their Eden. The way the habitats come together and form an army of their own was extremely inspiring to read about. This book helps you understand how important your roots really are.
Ayaz Kohli's writing is very easy to follow and clean. By that, I mean that it is as precise as it could get without meandering too much into unnecessary details. I did find that the book was slightly difficult to get into, but once the 60% mark was crossed, it got very engrossing and I found myself rooting for the people I had journeyed with in this book.
There are many books set in Jammu and Kashmir that are available in the market, and each is unique in it's own way. But I would recommend Snakes in the Meadows because it really digs deep into history of forgotten places and makes you realise both the positive and negative extremes of humanity. There is always so much more to a person and a story than what meets the eye. And that is exactly why you should give this one a go.
*Note: A copy of this book was provided by Rupa Publications in exchange for an honest review. We thank them.
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