Kashmiri Pandits now have their say, and “The Garden of Solitude” by Siddhartha Giggoo lights the way

What does it take to survive in an unknown territory, when all you have are memories of home? How does it feel to lose someone dear to a situation that you never wanted to be a part of? The entire book is about Sridar wanting the solitude back – the longing for peace and quiet moments that he and his friends have lost along the way. The topic is touchy and the premise is dangerous, in the sense that it takes a lot to write on a subject like this one. All in all what I can say about the book is that it should be read. The writing is beautiful and the emotions are raw and lucid, to touch every reader who picks it up. It’s “The Garden of Solitude” by Siddhartha Giggoo for you is discussed about, and as usual, the service from RightBooks.in is here to do the good for you. Siddartha’s writing is as simple as the ones that we read as children in our text books, simple but loaded with meaning. The jargon is intentionally kept out, as is the bitterness of being in exile. It is this lucidity of the novel that makes it standout in the swamp of present day modern English literature. Sridar, a rather uncommon name for a Kashmiri Pandit boy born in seventies, but name apart Siddartha’s protagonist could be anyone of us who was born in Kashmir during those times, when today’s Kashmir could simply have been dismissed as a bad dream. And Sridar’s life is torn apart as he reluctantly leaves his home situated in the beautiful Valley along with his family. The family, like the other Pandits, settles in Jammu, where an entire generation of Pandits spends the rest of their lives suffering from a sense of loneliness and alienation. The strength of this book is in its description of the condition that Kashmiri Pandits lived in camps. Just know how the older Pandits are dying every second and how it makes little difference if their neighbours are now Hindus (Dogras of Jammu), and how they still long for their Muslim neighbours. Something you must read, and the link at www.rightbooks.in/product_details.asp?pid=9788129117182&The%20Garden%20Of%20Solitude%20%28Hardcover%29 is the easiest way to get glimpses of this.