Originally published in Urdu as Barf Aashna Parindey by well-known Kashmiri writer and poet (late) Dr Tarannum Riyaz, this novel now finds a new audience in its English translation, crafted by the author herself. The book begins by depicting the childhood of Sheba and her sisters, and cousins, as they meet in their ancestral village during the school vacations. Their childhood in rural Kashmir is evocatively described, bringing alive images of walnut orchards, gurgling streams, and green countryside. Anyone who has visited Kashmir, or indeed seen its landscape in cinema, will be drawn into the story in the initial part of the novel. Thereafter, once the large cast of characters has been introduced, the narrative primarily focuses on Chowdhury Najam Khan and his wife Suraya Begum, and their daughters Sheba, Faheema and Farkhanda and their children Seemeen and Yasir. While Faheema and Farkhanda marry young, Sheba is interested in studying further and when she gets a scholarship to live in another city, she leaves Kashmir despite her sisters’ protests. With her father’s support, she moves away to pursue her dream.
Exploring women’s freedom, the mother-daughter relationship and social mores, the author skilfully interweaves several poignant narratives. As Sheba studies further, she wishes to be free, just as the birds that she likes observing, but she also understands the need to live within social conventions and accept life’s responsibilities. While studying at university, Sheba takes on the compassionate task of looking after her professor, when he is afflicted by a stroke. She engages in this humanitarian role with her college batch-mates and continues alone after they move on in pursuit of their professional and personal goals.
The story follows Sheba’s life as she pursues academia, cares for her ailing professor, and negotiates potential suitors. Sheba’s mother’s concerns, sister Faheema’s jealousy, and Sheba’s loving relationship with her niece and nephew are also explored. The unhappy marriage of Nuzhat, sister-in-law of Farkhanda and her subsequent death is a poignant episode in the story that raises questions about how the family itself can become the site of neglect, violence, and trauma. How the trauma affects Nuzhat’s son Aasim, who joins the militants in Kashmir brings the larger political struggle in the Kashmir Valley into the peaceful world of Sheba’s family. Sheba is able to prevent her nephew Yasir from following in Aasim’s footsteps by talking him out of his youthful plans.
Sheba’s concern for her family and professor, her gentleness towards her friends and potential suitors, and her sense of responsibility, which leads her to make her life’s choices, form the core of the narrative. Finally, after her professor passes away, Sheba makes the choice to return to Kashmir to be with her mother, who is now widowed. By reaffirming the closeness of family ties the novel also reiterates the need to fulfil family responsibilities. Contrast here is seen with the professor’s wife, who abandons him to the care of his students and an attendant, as she pursues her career in the West. The narrative of Sheeba’s roommate, Mayuri who marries and moves to England, and her rift from and eventual reunification with her husband, add another strand about the pressures of modern life on human relationships to the novel. So while the novel is from Kashmir, it is pan-Indian and even global in its outlook.
The novel, deftly translated by the author herself, depicts the changing times in Kashmir, from a rural to a more urban life, the impact of modern thinking, and through its portrayal of female characters explores their compassion and resolve, as well as their search for self-fulfillment within social conventions. In this it is a deeply Indian novel, as it balances the search for self-fulfillment with the necessity to nurture and preserve family ties. The helpful list of characters at the beginning helps readers keep track of the family bonds and generational descendants. Sheba’s choices, where she turns down a couple of offers of marriage, show her quiet resolve to forge her own path, while standing up to social pressure.
While Sheba is shown as not religious, she displays a deep humanity in her care for her ailing professor. Overall the book is a gentle read, that poses thought-provoking questions about changing times, changing mindsets, and how—despite all this—humanity and human connections remain essential. This is a significant translation, well worth reading for its insights into the Kashmiri way of life, its depiction of women making their own choices, and its warm heart that privileges human connections.
The author can be mailed at suhailmir125@gmail.com
