This is a translation of Khushwant Singh's novel Train to Pakistan, first published in 1956.
The setting is a quiet village in Punjab. People of different communities live a peaceful and contented life, with no communal rancour between them. Their daily routine is attuned to the passenger and goods trains that chug along at specified times. Loves and peccadilloes, antagonisms and alliances and such other typical happenings might be interspersed with an occasional crime.
In the wake of Independence and partition of India comes horror by trainloads and in a flood to the village. The villagers are roused to react to the bloody violence. The plan of the instigators is to massacre passengers on their way to Pakistan. The local magistrate and the police, however, have their own stratagem to deal with the impending situation.
There are many characters, mostly good and some bad. The presence of the train is unmistakable. Events are brought to a brilliant climax in the last chapter where the author shows superb craftsmanship in untying the knot.
Woven into the narration are a tender love story, a penetrating analysis of the dilemma between the good and the evil, a commentary on the Sikh religion, and a satirical glance at the bureaucracy and politics.
The translation is done competently. In the conversational portions, the lingo suits the character. In serious passages such as the self-examination by a social worker, it is lucid. The cover illustration is a steam locomotive with no hint of the overwhelmingly terrible cargo that it hauled on those dark days.
PAKISTAN POGUM RAIL: by Khushwant Singh, Translated by Raman Raja; Kizhakku Pathippagam, Ambal's Building, 177/103, Lloyds Road, Chennai-600014. Rs. 200.
