Two and a Half Rivers
How do we understand a land and its people? How do we look at its history, at a phase of turbulence which once ravaged the lives of its people? At the social structures rarely talked about? And how do we make sense of it? Can the perception be whole if only selective truths are voiced?
Anirudh Kala's 'Two and a Half Rivers' is a heart wrenching fictionalised tale of the lives of people of Punjab during the troubled years of militancy and counter insurgency. It also focuses upon the issue of caste oppression in the state and bring to you the ordeals of those living in 'Vehras' at the outskirts of its villages.
Reading this book has been a very personal experience for me. It has helped me understand the history of the place I feel more closer to now than I ever did. For past couple of years I have been thinking more about my roots, my birthplace and trying to understand my anxieties around the idea of home.
I was born in Punjab and at the time of Operation Bluestar, we lived in Amritsar. Though I have very faint memories of a few instances, what saddens me is the pain that people have gone through and their sufferings. Kala says that more than five thousand young people have not come home, and never will. Even to think about that tears me apart.
I hope this book reaches more readers.
My review has appeared here:
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