[Book Review] This unquiet land
Two empty earthen pots sat on a rocky barren land with flies and insects swarming above, a portent of the desolation and disease we were about to witness…
This unquiet land
When Virender Sehwag comes out to bat, you expect a quickfire 45 off 20 balls even if the team is 7 wickets down having 20 overs to go still; likewise, this is exactly what you expect when Barkha dutt takes it upon herself to address the burning issues of the nation.
This book explores the various fault-lines plaguing independent India in an unapologetic and brutal way. At times, it tugs at your heart with the violent, gut-wrenching reality of our own society which is in an indifferent but constant state of flux.
Barkha Dutt brings in her own dimension to the matters at hand. Like a skilled cave explorer, she climbs down the jagged contours of caste, religion, gender and politics throwing light on the huge and multilayered walls of this precipice called India. At some places, her portrayal does feel lop-sided to her perception of reality, but now, when I think of it- that is the case with anyone who has ever written a book or voiced an opinion. I strongly feel more such works should emerge from different perspectives so that we all can decode this jigsaw piece called India.
I may agree or disagree with Barkha Dutt’s locus point on several matters, but that is not important. This book is an excellent exertion of how she perceives the reality is- from her prism of understanding. And that is more important and I will always respect that because I have my own lens to look from.
This book is a must-read to anyone who wants to know this mystical land known as India or Bharat. While, India is a land with a plethora of languages, religions, colors and food choices as it should be, and yet, there is an invisible, indescribable and syncretic force field, which comes close to the oxford definition of ‘culture’, which has been uniting all people- from the lofty mountains of Hindu kush to the salty shores of Kanyakumari- in the way they have been going about their lives for the past thousands of years. And this is still at constant play and will continue for the next thousand years too- whether one likes it or not. By the way, these are not Barkha Dutt’s words from the book- just mine.
“It was sobering to think that the enormous power of the earthquake and the tsunami it had generated had managed to kill 230,000 people in fourteen countries but had still been unable to break down the wall that separated India’s Dalits from their countrymen.”
This unquiet land
Best read in a random road-side coffee shop in a random bustling street somewhere in India.
Originally published at http://stormsinmyteablog.wordpress.com on June 13, 2020.
