[LMT]∎ Libro The Tree With A Thousand Apples Sanchit Gupta 9789385285516 Books

The Tree With A Thousand Apples Sanchit Gupta 9789385285516 Books

Download As PDF : The Tree With A Thousand Apples Sanchit Gupta 9789385285516 Books

The Tree With A Thousand Apples Sanchit Gupta 9789385285516 Books

Amir Khusrao said of Kashmir: “Agar firdous baroye zameen ast, hami asto, hami asto hami ast” , meaning If there is paradise on earth, It is here, it is here, it is here.
But, now the paradise has been lost, and Kashmir is the Gaza Strip equivalent of the Indian Subcontinent. Set in this dangerous Kashmir is a tale of Deewan, Safeena and Bilal; three kids who grew up playing amongst the apple and deodar trees of the valley; but were soon caught between gunfires and curfews. The book covers decades; but the gripping pace had me hooked till the end.

The book starts back in the days when the Bhats and Maliks could be friends and neighbours. The weather of the valley took a drastic turn and communal tensions drove the Hindu Pandits out from the valley. The Muslims demand for “Azadi” gained strength; which often took form of militant activities and consequently the army crackdown also increased. The worst affected victims were the civilians who witnessed the bloodbath with their own naked eyes. Lives of Deewan, Safeena and Bilal were caught in this turmoil as well; and it is impossible to emerge from it.

What I really liked was that none of the characters in the story were black and white; all had shades of grey. This is actually true of the situation in Kashmir as well; it has no absolute right or wrong. The writer has managed to bring out the emotions very well on paper. When he describes Bilal’s guilt on having done the unthinkable; Deewan’s desire to return to his motherland; Safeena’s helplessness in finding her brother or general Chaudhry’s hatred towards Muslims; the reader can feel the chills down the spines. He also leaves us with a thought; that is a classical paradox for all violent religious revolutions: “What God could possibly be so heinous, so cruel to inspirit them to kill their fellow men?”


Tags : The Tree With A Thousand Apples [Sanchit Gupta] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <span><span>•A socio-political thriller set in Kashmir from 1990 to 2013</span></span><br /><span><span>•A coming-of-age novel that depicts the lives of three children and the choices destiny forces them to make</span></span><br /><span><span>•A multi-layered narrative that highlights different points of view - Kashmiri Pandits exiled from their homes,Sanchit Gupta,The Tree With A Thousand Apples,Niyogi Books,9385285513,Thrillers - General,Indic fiction (English),Violence - India - Kashmir, Vale of,Fiction,Fiction General,Fiction Thrillers General,FictionThrillers - General,FictionThrillers - Political,Fiction: General,Fiction: Thrillers General,Fiction: Thrillers Political,Mystery And Suspense Fiction,MysterySuspense

The Tree With A Thousand Apples Sanchit Gupta 9789385285516 Books Reviews

The Tree with a Thousand Apples is a book about Kashmir, but it could easily be a story about any other place. The characters are everyday people - with ordinary lives grappling with extraordinary circumstances. These characters could be any one of us, because the core human emotions, aspirations or fears remain the same irrespective of our individual situations. The book is written in present tense - which bring a refreshing immediacy to the narrative, and forces the readers to sit up and take notice of the situation. It is evident that the writer had mulled about this subject, and it has affected him to an extent that he had no option but to write this story.

This book presents a compelling testament of the human condition, and shows that the fulfilment of the basic needs of mankind (love, health, security, meaningful work, etc) are much more important than the seemingly bigger issues of politics, identity or ideology. In many ways this book is similar in scope to Khaled Hosseini's Kite Runner or even Hemingway’s “For whom the Bell Tolls”, where the residents of a small village - busy with the fulfilment of the basic needs of their seemingly ordinary lives, struggle to find allegiance for a larger cause that is unexpectedly thrust upon them.
Amir Khusrao said of Kashmir “Agar firdous baroye zameen ast, hami asto, hami asto hami ast” , meaning If there is paradise on earth, It is here, it is here, it is here.
But, now the paradise has been lost, and Kashmir is the Gaza Strip equivalent of the Indian Subcontinent. Set in this dangerous Kashmir is a tale of Deewan, Safeena and Bilal; three kids who grew up playing amongst the apple and deodar trees of the valley; but were soon caught between gunfires and curfews. The book covers decades; but the gripping pace had me hooked till the end.

The book starts back in the days when the Bhats and Maliks could be friends and neighbours. The weather of the valley took a drastic turn and communal tensions drove the Hindu Pandits out from the valley. The Muslims demand for “Azadi” gained strength; which often took form of militant activities and consequently the army crackdown also increased. The worst affected victims were the civilians who witnessed the bloodbath with their own naked eyes. Lives of Deewan, Safeena and Bilal were caught in this turmoil as well; and it is impossible to emerge from it.

What I really liked was that none of the characters in the story were black and white; all had shades of grey. This is actually true of the situation in Kashmir as well; it has no absolute right or wrong. The writer has managed to bring out the emotions very well on paper. When he describes Bilal’s guilt on having done the unthinkable; Deewan’s desire to return to his motherland; Safeena’s helplessness in finding her brother or general Chaudhry’s hatred towards Muslims; the reader can feel the chills down the spines. He also leaves us with a thought; that is a classical paradox for all violent religious revolutions “What God could possibly be so heinous, so cruel to inspirit them to kill their fellow men?”