Book Review : For Now, It Is Night

“My desire comes to my lips as a prayer
O God may my life shine like a candle
May my presence rid the world of darkness
May every place brighten with my sparkling light”

For Now It Is Night (translated from the Kashmiri by Kalpana Raina, Tanveer Ajsi, Gowhar Fazili and Gowhar Yaqoob), originally written by a famous Kashmiri writer Hari Krishna Kaul is a collection of seventeen captivating and evocative short stories.

Book Blurb on Amazon

Hari Krishna Kaul, one of the very best modern Kashmiri writers, published most of his work between 1972 and 2000. His short stories, shaped by the social crisis and political instability in Kashmir, explore - with an impressive eye for detail, biting wit, and deep empathy - themes of isolation, individual and collective alienation, corruption, and the social mores of a community that experienced a loss of homeland, culture, and language. In these pages, we will find: friends stuck forever in the same class at school while the world changes around them; travelers forced to seek shelter in a battered, windy hostel after a landslide; parents struggling to deal with displacement as they move away from Kashmir with their children, or loneliness as their children leave in search of better prospects; the cabin fever of living through a curfew... Brilliantly translated in a unique collaborative project, For Now, It Is Night brings a comprehensive selection of Kaul's stories to English readers for the very first time.

Review

It is a short story collection that offers a glimpse into the lives of Kashmiri people confronting the complexities of love, loss, identity, and dealing with conflicts and disruption. The plot of each story comes with a detailed description capturing the beauty and harshness of Kashmir. The stories enriched with detail will transport the readers to imagine the sights, life of locals, smell, and sound of the place. Readers may find stories at a slow pace. Each tale reflects rich culture, political instability, and social crisis in Kashmir. The character development is well-versed in each story. Readers can connect with the struggles and resonate with the complexities in each tale. The author does brilliant work crafting each anecdote with unique characters, profoundly understanding their emotions and state. One story that stands out of this collection, Sunshine, has a female protagonist. The author put every detail of her feelings, pain, fear, and agony to craft this story very well. Another example of such an account is Tomorrow: A Never-Ending Story. The story pictures two characters of the same age. Their bonding and understanding of each other make the readers connect with them. It will leave a nostalgic feeling. The author's ability to present a vivid range of emotions and understanding human conditioning makes this collection a masterpiece. Exploration of themes, including love, loss, belonging, and desiring an identity, recollects the author's fondness and roots in this place. The translation of the author's work embarks another piece of literature for the readers to fall in love and dig for more stories from him to rejuvenate with tales to know about the culture from his aspect. It is a collection of emphatic and moving stories that will last with the readers long after reading it. It is a distinctive outlook on human conditions based in Kashmir.

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