“The Tree With a Thousand Apples” is one of those books which has really daunted me, whenever I’ve thought of writing the review. It is also one of those books which felt like quite a heavy read, and I had to maintain a slow pace, graciously soaking in the details.
Sprouting from the plot of the Hindu-Muslim hostility
regarding the inhabitants of Kashmir, this book tells the story of three
friends—Safeena, Bilal and Deewan, hailing from the Jannat (paradise) called
Kashmir. Deewan is a Kashmiri pandit,
and the other two are religious followers of Islam. Destiny will rift them
apart to inhuman terrains, and at the end they will cross paths once again. They
will lose their families, will have to adapt to numerous identities, hide their
Kashmiri origins—but finally, they will flaunt their friendship, breaking apart
from all religious and geographical boundaries.
Sanchit Gupta’s writing preserves the flavour of Kashmir.
It shows off the nuances of Kashmiri traditions, and creates a haze of the prevailing
animosity between the residential Hindu and Muslim communities. He nurtures the
root of this rift with quite a skill, highlighting the biases and superstitions
associated with it. He makes the life of the protagonists seem like a dream,
and makes us realize the brutal effects of communal and religious riots. His
characters go through tortures and soothes, just because they were born as Kashmiris,
Hindus and Muslims alike.
What is it to be a Kashmiri?
For the ones among us who don’t hail from the
beautiful land of Kashmir, this question has no answer. No matter how hard we
try to rummage through the facts and figures of the violence prevailing there,
hoping to see both sides of the coin—we can’t create a fulfilling picture of
it. But this book will make us wonder and realize, perhaps elevating us to a position
from where we can see for ourselves. From this view from a higher pedestal, we
will be able to drink the hot kawha of Kashmir, participate in the azadi
slogans of the protesters, feast our eyes on the sheer beauty of the hilly
landscape, and perhaps be a little more aware plus compassionate. This book
attempts to pull down the minutely instigated hatred against Kashmiri musalmaans,
and lets the issue get portrayed without the disguising of any opinions or facts.
It dissolves popular misconceptions regarding the superiority of the army men posted
in Kashmir, and points fingers at the helplessness of the ones who actually demand
peace and harmonic existence.
This book will make you feel like a sponge. It will go on secreting information and perceptions and ideologies, and you’ll keep imbibing them all. It’s not linear, rather it is multi-faceted and has many sharp edges. Sometimes these edges will make you bleed and feel the pain, sometimes they’ll make you shake in sympathy—but almost always, they will make you understand and grow as a person. It will showcase each character and each scenario in multiple lights, shrouding them in numerous hues. Evolving out of your prejudices, you will learn to see everything just as the way they are. Essentially, it will transcend to be a unique treatise on human biases, mutual hatred and sheer helplessness in the hand of cruel fate. In all, this book makes Kashmir shine in all its glory, with its teeming population of Hindus and Muslims alike, and justify its name as the ‘paradise on earth’.
➦Buy the book here.
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