An Author’s Journey
It
is a little more than six years ago that I began to write a novel ‘The Infidel Next
Door’ based on my work with Kashmiri Hindus in the refugee camps. The book, a
narrative about the seventh exodus of Kashmiri Hindus as seen through the eyes
of two boys who live next door to each other in Kashmir and who belong to different
faiths, tells the reader of why the Hindu civilization in Kashmir came to an end
because of religious persecution of Hindus.
The
book was rejected by twenty nine publishers. As I was to learn later, it was because
of the theme of my book.
“A
Hindu man searching for his roots is not what our country is ready for at the
moment,” I was told.
“Why
not instead write about mythology, college romances or self-help?” someone asked
me.
“Bash
Brahminical patriarchy, the plight of untouchables as the core theme,” another
publisher advised. “It will be lapped up.”
The
run of bad luck ended with the thirtieth publisher.
Fondly
called Utpalji, he told me after reading it, “It is a book with a difference
and has a soul.”
He
then added what is music to every writer. “I will take the risk and publish it
without a cut and see to it that it reaches the readers.”
Rejection
of manuscripts is nothing alien to many authors. What keeps his spirit alive are
the reviews by the unknown readers inspite of numerous rejections.
There
were readers who wrote saying this book not only made them reflect on their
identity but could also relate with the struggle of characters as universal, reflecting
of modern times. Some added saying it made them understand the raw religious
divide that exists between Hinduism and Islam and it brought a feeling of
healing and closure.
I
thank everyone, specifically the unknown readers who wrote to me and want to say
it is a journey I will continue with your support.
Many
scholars as well sent me their critical reviews.
One
of the most prominent one was from Professor Vamik Volkan, a five times Nobel Prize
nominee and internationally respected activist known for his work on the fall
of the Berlin Wall. He said that reading the book was an unforgettable experience
for him in that he understood the trauma that Indians faced over centuries due
to religious divide and persecution.
I
add two reviews here one by Professor Vamik Volkan and the other by Midwest
book review, one of the most known and respected book reviewers of fiction worldwide.
Rajat
Mitra
Review by Professor
Vamik Volkan
“An
unforgettable read. I learnt more about India from reading this book than from
attending an international seminar devoted to trauma and reconciliation in
India.
Years ago, when I was visiting a refugee camp, the local scholars
who accompanied me told me the history of what had happened to people now
living at this miserable place and how they had become victims of their old
neighbors with a different ethnic background. Then I met an elderly man who was
a well-known poet. I learned that since his arrival there he had written a poem
each day and shared it with his fellow refugees. When some of his poems were
translated for me I realized that they taught me more about his people and the
impact of an ethnic conflict than had all the intellectual explanations
provided for me.
In the above conference, scholars and speakers from a range of disciplines
spoke of trauma and religious violence in India and especially on Kashmir. Rajat
Mitra’s book, like the poems I heard years ago, enlightened me and I understood
why a divide exists between Hindus and Muslims in India. This book tells us as
to why healing and forgiveness can take place in the midst of mass violence. I
recommend this book, not only for those working on societal trauma and peace,
but for anyone who wants to understand the conflict between bad and good
aspects of human nature.”
Vamık D. Volkan, M. D., Nobel prize nominee, Professor Emeritus of
Psychiatry, University of Virginia and the author of Enemies on the Couch: A Psychopolitical Journey Through War and Peace
Review in Midwest
Book Review by Diane Donovan, Senior Reviewer
Midwest Book Review
The Infidel Next Door opens with an arranged marriage between a sick orphan girl and a shy boy; but it quickly evolves to embrace more than two lost souls finding each other; because between them there are deeply abiding secrets that keep each at arm's length even as they learn that neither can hide or keep secrets about their past.
Replete with Hindu gods, temples, and religious perspectives,
and a young boy who serves as both a miracle and a reminder of life's fragility, The
Infidel Next Door weaves through Indian culture and perspectives as if
in a delicate dance, each step precisely described and compellingly intriguing.
When a temple is built next to a Muslim mosque, creating forces
that confront one another on many levels, the story really earns its laurels as
characters so carefully crafted earlier in the tale begin to comprehend the
magnitude of the changes in their world and what it means to their choices and
lives: "Remember what I taught you about infidels? It is Allah’s will
that your fight begins on your doorstep.” “I will cast terror in their hearts
as it is commanded in the book,” Anwar said. “It is a priest and he has a son
who are coming next door. They won’t be a match for you.” “I will convert him
to Islam and if he doesn’t obey, I will drive them away from Kashmir.” Haji
chacha looked him in the eye. In a steady low pitched voice he said,
“Inshallah, you are fortunate. You no longer have to imagine an enemy. He will
come right next door to you. Your struggle will be unique in the annals of
jihad.” “Why chacha?”Anwar asked. “Because a warrior comes alive through
knowing that his enemy is big, real and more dangerous than he thought him to
be.”
From caste systems to secrets surrounding births, defiance and
difficult love relationships, and the challenges of children to either follow
in or divert from the paths of tradition, The Infidel Next Door is
alive with thought-provoking insights throughout, cemented by characters who
struggle on many levels: "Aditya, you are like those distant mountain
peaks. They look beautiful but one can’t live there. I want to remember you as
someone who liberated me.” “That is not love, Zeba.” “Every woman, Aditya,
falls in love with the man who teaches her to live. He then should live in her
memory otherwise their relationship loses meaning.” “Zeba, this will be a
living death for us.” “I know that. I have to be loyal to my husband inspite of
thoughts of you that are there in every corner of my mind.” Tara came near and
said to Zeba, “The light in your room has been switched on.” ... She decided
not to open the curtains and look outside again and closed the light. That was
her past. There comes a time in everyone’s life when they have to close the
curtains of the past. “I will give myself a chance, to my marriage, to this
relationship with Salim,” she said, as she switched off the lights. It was
better she stayed in the darkness."
From traditions that clash to miracles and murders, The
Infidel Next Door weaves a tight story of social, spiritual and
psychological changes which are tinged with disaster and discovery at every
turn.
One needn't be familiar with Indian society, Muslim or Hindu
religions, or even with regional Indian social and political forces in order to
appreciate this compelling story, which draws together disparate lives and
cross purposes in an engrossing saga that's hard to put down and especially
recommended for any Westerner who would better understand the subtler nuances
of Indian society.
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