One of the first lady officers to join the armed forces, Nitu Bhattacharya was once asked by her daughter, now pursuing medicine, if she was adopted! Not many parents would have had to answer that question. Even as she replied in the negative, Nitu immediately realised that the daughter had a reason to ask the question. Nitu had just wrapped up a collection of short stories “Half Life”. The first story “Thoughtfully Yours” recounts the tale of a brother-sister duo Sandeep and Deepa. Turns out Deepa was adopted by Sandeep's parents when she was two, and did not know till she her non-biological mother broke the news when she was well into her teens. Many years earlier, in militancy-affected Punjab, Deepa was the sole survivor even as her parents were gunned down on the road. The story is entirely fictitious but it flows so smoothly and retains such emotion that even Nitu's daughter thought it was about her!
Incidentally, “Thoughtfully Yours” is one of the two stories based in Punjab of the '80s when militants often caused devastation, and many human beings were reduced to the status of collateral damager. “Yes, my daughter did ask me if she was adopted. I said no,” admits Nitu. While it is a fictitious account, the other story “Undaunted Grandma” is indeed based on author's grandmother. As Nitu happily reveals, “It narrates the story of a woman based in Punjab of pre-Partition days. Following the Partition, she comes over to this side and is settled near the border. All along she holds Radcliffe responsible for inflicting so much agony on common people. She even lives through the wars in 1965 and 1971 but still wants to meet him once once. Why? She just believes that he would have got so many curses for the Partition that he could be do with some dua!”
Book cover
Interestingly the book which invests a lot of emotional energy in stories emanating from the violence-hit Kashmir, is titled “Half Life” simply because it narrates everything from the point of view of Nitu, a cop who had to spend many years in militancy-infested areas. It meant challenging, arduous postings at unfriendly stations with a different language and culture. Yet Nitu admits, “no story is complete until it gives perspective from both sides. I have called my book ‘Half Life’ simply because it is from my perspective. Life has to be looked at from both sides in areas of conflict. Complete picture can emerge only after seeing an instance from all angles.” She recounts a Fidayeen attack in Kashmir which resulted in a soldier being martyred.
“Whatever you might say, but in any such attack, there is loss on both sides. Whatever the reasons, such violence leads to loss on both sides. It leaves lasting scars.”
It is these scars that she has tried to capture in the book which has a foreword by ace cop KPS Gill because “he gave Punjab back to its people”.
The journey has not been easy for Nitu. “I could only sit down to write after my children grew up. Otherwise, it is never easy to be posted in places with possible attack any moment. It is more difficult for a lady. You have to leave your kids at home and you do not know if there would be a suicide attack because you are based in an area of conflict. You cannot leave them with grandparents either as they have their own life too. I remember once my son, who was 7 or so at that time, saw a shopkeeper with a kid in Kashmir. He came back and asked me, if shopkeepers also had children! He had never seen any kids beyond the forces. So restrictive was life. My daughter changed 19 schools! The kids could not make friends because of my frequent transfers.”
It is such bruising experiences that she is able to pass on to the reader with her pen. “Half Life” is a ready primer for those who want to know what is it to be a lady, a mother in a conflict zone. Or be a cop who retains her sensitive side. Won't it make for a rich, fulfilling rather than just half life! “These are stories that needed to be told,” sums up the author who uses only her maiden name in the world of letters.
