In the world of Indian comics, one of the things I'm glad about is that while the output is relatively lower in number than say the US or UK, the quality is not. The issues with which they deal are contemporary and real; be it the double-life of Kari, or the journals of The Barn Owl's Capers. Penned by Naseer Ahmed, Kashmir Pending is yet another novel on these same lines.
Naseer takes on the decades old strife in the Kashmir Valley, one that we now take so much for granted that it no longer even makes the news. The story, however, is not from an outsider's point of view where facts and events are laid out so that good and bad are as easy to tell apart as black and white. Instead, it takes us into the life of young Muslim boys growing up in Kashmir and being manipulated by larger forces.
But before going on to discussing what I think is the true highlight of the book, here's a short brief on the storyline: The chief protagonist is Mustaq, a boy with unresolved anger issues against the army. To top it off, his family is not supportive of his artistic abilities. While at the university, he attends fiery lectures by charismatic leaders of the Kashmir freedom movement and is so smitten that he goes off to a terrorist camp across the border for training.
While there, he, along with other incumbents from across the border, are treated with scorn. He starts getting disenchanted with it all and, bribing the guard with a wrist watch, makes his way back to the Valley. He then discovers that the militant recruiters themselves are involved in double-crossing conspiracy, and loses his best friend to them. This finally sets him on the path to reformation.
That's basically it. What comes out of it is the question of ownership: who's war is it?
Apologies if that didn't want to make you pick up the book and read it, but I've tried to copy the same bland manner of the author. It's disappointing that given a situation like Kashmir, where there's plenty of opportunity to infuse the dialogue with wit and irony, Naseer chooses to be simple. But here's why you should go and get the book: the artwork.
Saurabh Singh's dark and harsh portrayal of prisoners in cells, smoking, praying, and talking set the tone brilliantly for the book. Making the cells shadowy, so that if it weren't for the bars, you'd think they were caves, gives the story a distinct no-nonsense look. Readers will also be reminded of Sin City in Singh's use of black and red.
The storyboarding has also been done very interestingly. If it were a movie, it would jump from far shots to close-up zooms, which gives the novel a very surrealistic feeling. All in all, I wouldn't really ask you to go mad looking for it, or even buy it if you see it… but it's a good book to borrow.
Note to readers: I'm sure that many of you would have read this book. It's possible that I got so taken with the artwork that it set my expectations of the story much higher. Do let me know your views on it.
