Shades and Shadows: A gripping read
Srinagar: Shades and Shadows is a magnificent novel by author Mushtaque B Barq, a well known and established author and poet.
His new offering is about contemporary social and political ethos, highly metaphoric and profound in its content. It is conceived and delivered in the bildungsroman genre where the protagonist, under the shadow of his friend, mentor and guide, Dr Najeeb, grows up to the reality of his state and of his being. The friends are inseparable and their connect with nature is so intense that studying for hours the ripples on the Gillsar river teaches the boy more than his books in school.
The language is lyrical and touches you spiritually, “The gushing brook only knows how to run like a divine message” while you are astounded with exquisite imagery, as in the line, “ The dusk stunned everyone for its dandy ostentation”.
As one reads on, one realizes that his soul is in the grip of the writer’s words, “Teach me O! mind to unfetter my neck from the burden of slavery.”
After the death of Dr Najeeb, and the allegory of the burial (s), and as though guided by Najeeb’s spirit, the grown young man squares his shoulders to fight his war, even as his best friend Basharat parts ways to fight differently. The young man is now compelling as he says, “The trees of my vale are shedding the withered frill. Changing my backyard into a graveyard where headstones and nameplates are superseded ritual.”
This novel is a gripping read, and as one turns the last page, he tends to start over again.
KV News
