Blog 102 - "The Blind Man's Garden" By Nadeem Aslam

Love is not consolation, it is light.

           This is first time when I went through a book backhand by – Nadeem Aslam – a gifted and critically acclaimed [ from greatest writer ] of this generation. “The Blind Man's Garden” is first Nadeem Aslam's novel I went through and which came highly recommended from many world-wide abolish author's and truly I was not disappointed. The 400+ page book was completed in just two days. Undoubtedly this book is poetic, bold and, direct and, beautifully written in every manner. After reading this book I can agree to this assessment that he's truly a talented magician of words with pen in his hand instead of a wand. The ability to invoke strong emotions in the readers is no small matter and it is a proven fact that Nadeem Aslam achieves this with such an ease.

           “The Blind Man’s Garden” is a novel which rewards attentive reading and one in which the reader relishes every word. The book is set after the first few months following the attacks of 9/11 - The story of two foster brother - Jeo and Mikal, Joe's father Rohan, Mikal's brother Basie and Naheed. The initial few pages give us a glimpse of a world which is soon to follow. The book is cruel and violent in its description but so is the world that it’s set in. An atmospheric and heart wrenching view of what the aftermath of 9/11 was for the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan and Taliban who declare themselves as true devotee of their God “Allah” and treat the rest world as an “INFIDEL.” It focuses on one family, but the story it tells explains a part of the world that we know so little about at the day to day family level. Everything is in there – the poverty, the richness of life, family, war, peace, religion, traditions, education, Taliban, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Infidel, pride, guilt, life, death and, above all – A SURVIVAL.

           All the characters belongs to book are vivid, complex and flawed – there are no saints on either side. Rohan’s garden provides an oasis of calm, respite from the turbulence of the outside world but he also faces an inner struggle. In a society dominated by religious extremism it becomes increasingly difficult to reconcile family and faith and this inevitably creates tension between generations.

           The book moves back and forth between the small town of Heer and the mountains of Afghanistan, where American soldiers have begun a fight against the Taliban and the hunt for Al-Qaueda terrorists. Rohan's recently married son, Jeo, a trainee doctor, sets off for Afghanistan with his foster brother Mikal, a poetically minded and skilled mechanic who also have knowledge about the constellation of cars and stars and is secretly, in love with Jeo's wife, Naheed [ before marriage ] who also happens to be in love with him that is later investigated by Jeo during their journey towards war-land Afghanistan.

           When Joe and Mikal leave for Afghanistan with the intention of tending to the sick and on the first night of their trip to the Afghan border, they are tricked by their driver and thanks to a plot by an enemy back in their Pakistani hometown – the brothers were sold into the private army of a warlord. They try to escape and are promptly captured by a band of Taliban warriors, and soon find themselves in the middle of a chaotic firefight. Later they found they both lost in the jungle of terrorism realize that it is not easy to escape through the clutches of this violence. Alongside taken through a world filled with deception, violence and hatred they found themselves in a world different from their own world. Soon, the family of Jeo's received a news of his death and his decease body on their footstep – while on other side the family that suffers in their absence and yearns for their return. A nearly blind father whose memories of his dead wife are cruel reminders of his religious beliefs and her secular convictions.

           Back home in Heer (a fictional town that shares a name with a famous Punjabi romance) Jeo’s wife, Naheed, faces the consequences of her own dangerous secret. Though she married Jeo a little over a year ago, the week before the wedding she was ready to run away with Mikal, who has been her secret lover. It’s only because Mikal never showed up on the night they were to elope that she wound up married to Jeo. And now, with the brothers swept up by war, Naheed longs for one and suffers guilt over the other.

           Mikal, meanwhile, has been captured by the Americans, who think he’s a high-level Al Qaeda commander. Despite prolonged and repeated harsh handling – Mikal would have no problem picking sides on the question of whether torture – he refuses to give the Americans so much as his name. Eventually freed, he promptly commits a crime that puts him back into the cross-hairs. His flight across Afghanistan and back to Heer, to be reunited with Naheed and to learn Jeo’s fate, becomes ever more perilous.

           It gives way to pages of internal debate on religion and fundamentalism. It seems a nigh impossible task to unite East and West but, in this compelling novel, Aslam succeeds in highlighting what we have in common – humanity, loyalty, love and family ties – the building blocks upon which a more peaceful future might be based. Despite the tragedies which haunt this family, this is fundamentally a story of one basic truth of life called as - “HOPE.”

           It is an excellent drama set in a very beautiful and vivid way - Not many words wasted throughout. The subject matter in this book is hard: hard to fathom, hard to digest, hard to put past your thoughts. layered with connections between people, animals, plants, and a magical touch between all of them. This was by far one of the most eloquent, emotionally resonant, lyrical, and lush novel on the subject. For anyone who is a fan of literature, of language and of beautiful writing this book is a must read, it's a rare find in today's fiction.

          

 After reading this book, I am surly going to read his another creations.

About Nadeem Aslam – Nadeem Aslam is a Pakistan born writer. His family moved from Pakistan to England when he was only fourteen year old. He's the author of three other novel: Seasons of the Rain-birds, Maps for Lost Lovers (long-listed for the Booker Prize, shortlisted for IMPAC prize), the wasted Vigil. In 2012 he was a made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.






Cheers!
Dhitendra
Keep Smiling :-)