In this achingly good collection of short stories by Parismita Singh, each of the eight tales unravels in a part of upper Assam which is also often referred to as ‘Bodoland’. The word ‘Peace’ in the title refers to a period of ceasefire between the government and the Bodo rebels.
Living in a post 9/11 world, we well understand the meaning of ‘collateral damage’, but we seldom realise that ‘ceasefire’ also claims its share of victims, and like a war, it also comes with collateral damage. Through her stories, Singh tells us how common people suffer during “the uneasy, purgatory like time of ceasefire”, which is really no better than wartime.
The stories are about the extraordinary efforts of ordinary people to lead normal lives in troubled times. In the opening story, ‘A Time Made of Glass’, we meet Rwmaii and Sylvia, who are in love with each other. Their love story comes to an abrupt end when Sylvia is married off to a powerful militant leader. Later, they plan to elope, but Rwmaii realises that Sylvia’s husband can easily harm his family and decides to forsake Sylvia.
The plotlines are often predictable. But Singh’s uniqueness lies in the way she carves out her characters, looking deep into their heart and minds, so that readers immediately empathise with them.
Whether they are Bodos, Nepalis, Bengalis, Koch-Rajbongshis, Rabhas, Muslims or Santalis, every ethnic and religious group suffers in the socio-political turmoil happening around them. And despite their cultural differences, their pain and daily struggles are alike.
Most of them don’t understand politics until someone explains it to them. Their powerlessness in the face of forces beyond their control makes them one with residents of war-ravaged zones across the world.
Even while the stories evoke compassion, Singh maintains a steady distance from her characters. She describes their lives in exquisite detail, like a documenter. At places, however, the descriptions drag on and in some stories the stage seems overcrowded.
The Mumbai-based screenwriter and critic’s first novel Patna Blues will be published later this year .
Peace has Come; Parismita Singh, Westland Books, ₹499
