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Pages Stained with Blood
Just pages from a diary. Simple, sudden, fogettable? No. They record a tale of human frailties, of mindless violence. A personalized history of the 1984 riots in Delhi and the events preceding it, this book is an account of the riot-torn, savage days following the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
6 people are currently reading
212 people want to read
About the author
Indira Goswami
28 books30 followersIndira Goswami was an Indian author known by her pen name Mamoni Raisom Goswami and popularly as Mamoni Baideo
She was the winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award (1983), the Jnanpith Award (2001) and Principal Prince Claus Laureate (2008). A celebrated writer of contemporary Indian literature, many of her works have been translated into English from her native Assamese which include The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker, Pages Stained With Blood and The Man from Chinnamasta.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 10, 2021
"I'm steadily becoming convinced that life is nothing but a long string of partings - a journey of separations."
With quite a few gruesome scenes, the story smoothly tells the struggles of a woman in search of stories that remained with a few strangers other than written and lost in a few gone old books.
This story is more about the killings that happened in Punjab and violence towards the sikhs during the 1980s. It gets quite gruesome at times, more towards the second half.
This is one of those books which make you yearn for tea, cups of it, as the characters keep sipping and enjoying tea now and then.
True or not (who knows!), there are stories about men whose families got ruined because of their egos. It sounds funny but then for many "izzat" holds a very high place in their heads that they can sacrifice everything. Log kya sochenge (what will others think) is the highest deal of their lives.
Included in the diary entries are parts of women and children being kidnapped and killed mercilessly; certain communities being targeted during those times; the ugly side of the world of poverty and hunger; corruption and terrorism; the tyranny of politics; the extravagant life of Akbar; the beauty and the rich cultural history of Delhi; lives endangered due to wildlife and the inevitable feeling of triumph of humans over keeping the wildlife under control; how the glowing shrines of the past turned to drains and a part based during the times of the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
I found the parts which talked about historical events and personalities quite impressive. The writing on the literary lives as well as their works seem quite vague yet it sparked the interest in me to read up more on them.
I like the book but I cannot help thinking that some core parts of the writing got lost in the translation. I do feel the translation could have been much better.
With quite a few gruesome scenes, the story smoothly tells the struggles of a woman in search of stories that remained with a few strangers other than written and lost in a few gone old books.
This story is more about the killings that happened in Punjab and violence towards the sikhs during the 1980s. It gets quite gruesome at times, more towards the second half.
This is one of those books which make you yearn for tea, cups of it, as the characters keep sipping and enjoying tea now and then.
True or not (who knows!), there are stories about men whose families got ruined because of their egos. It sounds funny but then for many "izzat" holds a very high place in their heads that they can sacrifice everything. Log kya sochenge (what will others think) is the highest deal of their lives.
Included in the diary entries are parts of women and children being kidnapped and killed mercilessly; certain communities being targeted during those times; the ugly side of the world of poverty and hunger; corruption and terrorism; the tyranny of politics; the extravagant life of Akbar; the beauty and the rich cultural history of Delhi; lives endangered due to wildlife and the inevitable feeling of triumph of humans over keeping the wildlife under control; how the glowing shrines of the past turned to drains and a part based during the times of the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
I found the parts which talked about historical events and personalities quite impressive. The writing on the literary lives as well as their works seem quite vague yet it sparked the interest in me to read up more on them.
I like the book but I cannot help thinking that some core parts of the writing got lost in the translation. I do feel the translation could have been much better.
August 9, 2020
Pages Stained with Blood by Indira Goswami (Translated from Assamese by Pradip Acharya) is more or less a diary that the unnamed protagonist kept in the year 1984. Yes, it talks about what you expected. About Indira Gandhi's assasination and it's aftermath. But more than that, actually for 125 out of the 156 pages of the book, Indira talks about the protagonist's days in Delhi's North Campus, her daily voyages to gather matter and information for her book on the Dilli of Mughals, and her bond formation with three Sikhs - Santokh Singh, Balbir Raddiwala and Sikh Baba. Actually make that four, she also shared some semblance of a bond with Brigadier Ratan Mansigh. What hurts the most, however, is that she only found the end of one of these bonds, the rest disappeared or stood hanging in the air, like smoke that refuses to let you breathe fully, yet promises you of the very oxygen you need for your survival.
Before Indira elaborates on how the protagonist's diary got stained with blood, how she had to march through camps of refugees, how she had to see the Gurudwaras she visited only a few months ago covered in blood and ashes, she also describes Delhi. She gives the reader a beautiful picture of Delhi as she saw it from the lanes of Purani Dilli, during her visits to the narrow lanes and Ghalib ki haveli, and of course, Majnu ka Tila, Anand Parbat, Vedji's dhaba and much more. Having spent three years of my life visiting these very places every day, it was a strangely good experience of hearing about the history and legends associated with them from someone else.
Overall, her writing kept me hooked to the book. Her way of including and elabrorating on something using some legend from the Mughal era made the experience more dramatic and enlightening for me.
I am not completely able to decide how or if I loved this book, but I can say that her writing (and the translation) were poignant enough to make me feel what she was feeling. Maybe the fact that this book felt more like a real account rather than a fictional story made this reading experience seem all the more real to me.
Before Indira elaborates on how the protagonist's diary got stained with blood, how she had to march through camps of refugees, how she had to see the Gurudwaras she visited only a few months ago covered in blood and ashes, she also describes Delhi. She gives the reader a beautiful picture of Delhi as she saw it from the lanes of Purani Dilli, during her visits to the narrow lanes and Ghalib ki haveli, and of course, Majnu ka Tila, Anand Parbat, Vedji's dhaba and much more. Having spent three years of my life visiting these very places every day, it was a strangely good experience of hearing about the history and legends associated with them from someone else.
Overall, her writing kept me hooked to the book. Her way of including and elabrorating on something using some legend from the Mughal era made the experience more dramatic and enlightening for me.
I am not completely able to decide how or if I loved this book, but I can say that her writing (and the translation) were poignant enough to make me feel what she was feeling. Maybe the fact that this book felt more like a real account rather than a fictional story made this reading experience seem all the more real to me.
May 26, 2020
This book is in the form of diary entries made by an Assamese woman, who is staying in Delhi and is in the process of writing a book on the city. She carries a notebook everywhere she goes and jots down about places, stories and people that interest her. This is all happening in the background of the events preceding and following the 1984 riots that shattered the country.
In the first half of the book, there is a set of characters (mostly Sikhs) and events she describes in the book. There is a glimpse into the world of the Mughals, their kitchens, their harems and their note-keeping which she quotes from an edition of Ain-e-Akbari and also mentions of the Ramayan translations by Adalat Khan (English) and Alexei Baranikov (Russian). Her diary takes you through the long lost structures of Delhi, now in ruins, and narrates the story or snippets of the stories behind those. I absolutely loved the parts where she is exploring the lanes and bylanes of Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi) and I could see myself walking with my mother through those same markets, through those same lanes.
But there is an overall tensed atmosphere that follows us throughout. With words mentioned like 'not safe times', 'times are bad', 'police checks everywhere' etc. you get a feeling of impending doom.
Towards the second half of the book, you see how events unfold and lead up to Operation Bluestar. I also got a chill while reading and imagining how a political assassination of a leader changes things around you and how it affects people. You also witness the aftermath of the assassination in the form of widespread riots that shake the very foundations of the country. The violence described in these pages, the helplessness of the victims, the apathy of the rioters and the goodwill of the few who try to help the survivors makes you revisit those terrible times and get a sense of the horror and gravity of the situation.
One can only hope and pray and wish not to live in such times, not to experience the panic and fear of not knowing when an attack can take place, who can turn against you and feel isolated in your own country. The title of the book is aptly titled 'pages stained with blood' but I also felt the pages of her notebook were stained with sweat, dust, heat and a burning stench.
In the first half of the book, there is a set of characters (mostly Sikhs) and events she describes in the book. There is a glimpse into the world of the Mughals, their kitchens, their harems and their note-keeping which she quotes from an edition of Ain-e-Akbari and also mentions of the Ramayan translations by Adalat Khan (English) and Alexei Baranikov (Russian). Her diary takes you through the long lost structures of Delhi, now in ruins, and narrates the story or snippets of the stories behind those. I absolutely loved the parts where she is exploring the lanes and bylanes of Chandni Chowk (Old Delhi) and I could see myself walking with my mother through those same markets, through those same lanes.
But there is an overall tensed atmosphere that follows us throughout. With words mentioned like 'not safe times', 'times are bad', 'police checks everywhere' etc. you get a feeling of impending doom.
Towards the second half of the book, you see how events unfold and lead up to Operation Bluestar. I also got a chill while reading and imagining how a political assassination of a leader changes things around you and how it affects people. You also witness the aftermath of the assassination in the form of widespread riots that shake the very foundations of the country. The violence described in these pages, the helplessness of the victims, the apathy of the rioters and the goodwill of the few who try to help the survivors makes you revisit those terrible times and get a sense of the horror and gravity of the situation.
One can only hope and pray and wish not to live in such times, not to experience the panic and fear of not knowing when an attack can take place, who can turn against you and feel isolated in your own country. The title of the book is aptly titled 'pages stained with blood' but I also felt the pages of her notebook were stained with sweat, dust, heat and a burning stench.
October 22, 2021
“Life is nothing but a string of partings- a journey of separations.”
Books that offer more than just stories are forever etched in my heart. They have something familiar about them which is- Belongingness. Indira Goswami gave me that pleasure, a book that is not just a book but a breathing soul.
About the Plot
The novella is basically some diary entries of the protagonist who is residing in Delhi to write a Book on Delhi with some colourful events pertaining to Mughals and the British Raj in India. But the sky of Delhi is turning red, communal tension is strengthening, it is the year 1984, Police is keeping an eye on Sikhs and in Punjab, Blue Star Operation is underway, oblivious of the danger, the protagonist is keen on writing her book and in pursuit of the same, she has formed a bond with 3 Sikh people- Her driver, Santokh Singh, who is a person drunk in love with her; Balbir Kabadiwala, who brings her the rarest books and stories of Delhi and Brigadier Ratan Mansingh whose stalwart and manly personality is hard to resist.
The Plot moves forward with their change in relationship with the change in the political atmosphere of that time and what course will it take in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
What I liked?
The book is rich in terms of its research about Delhi’s history, there are mentions of various poets and poetries throughout the book, for someone who is a history and culture enthusiast, this is a treasure to behold.
Amongst various stories mentioned, here in one-
James Skinner was an Army Commander who while lying wounded on the battlefield took an oath to build a Church to atone for all the sins he had committed and that’s how one of the oldest churches in Delhi was built which was named as- St. James Church.
What was meh…
Novella is named- Pages stained with Blood but only 20% of the story talks about the plight of Sikhs and even that portion felt a little rushed and vague, whereas 80% of the story is filled with stories of Delhi which undoubtedly were fascinating to read. I feel the essence of the emotions was lost somewhere in the translation.
Final Verdict-
3.5/5
Even though the book fell short in terms of describing the aftermath of 1984 but those captivating stories about Delhi saved the deal.
Books that offer more than just stories are forever etched in my heart. They have something familiar about them which is- Belongingness. Indira Goswami gave me that pleasure, a book that is not just a book but a breathing soul.
About the Plot
The novella is basically some diary entries of the protagonist who is residing in Delhi to write a Book on Delhi with some colourful events pertaining to Mughals and the British Raj in India. But the sky of Delhi is turning red, communal tension is strengthening, it is the year 1984, Police is keeping an eye on Sikhs and in Punjab, Blue Star Operation is underway, oblivious of the danger, the protagonist is keen on writing her book and in pursuit of the same, she has formed a bond with 3 Sikh people- Her driver, Santokh Singh, who is a person drunk in love with her; Balbir Kabadiwala, who brings her the rarest books and stories of Delhi and Brigadier Ratan Mansingh whose stalwart and manly personality is hard to resist.
The Plot moves forward with their change in relationship with the change in the political atmosphere of that time and what course will it take in the aftermath of the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
What I liked?
The book is rich in terms of its research about Delhi’s history, there are mentions of various poets and poetries throughout the book, for someone who is a history and culture enthusiast, this is a treasure to behold.
Amongst various stories mentioned, here in one-
James Skinner was an Army Commander who while lying wounded on the battlefield took an oath to build a Church to atone for all the sins he had committed and that’s how one of the oldest churches in Delhi was built which was named as- St. James Church.
What was meh…
Novella is named- Pages stained with Blood but only 20% of the story talks about the plight of Sikhs and even that portion felt a little rushed and vague, whereas 80% of the story is filled with stories of Delhi which undoubtedly were fascinating to read. I feel the essence of the emotions was lost somewhere in the translation.
Final Verdict-
3.5/5
Even though the book fell short in terms of describing the aftermath of 1984 but those captivating stories about Delhi saved the deal.
January 30, 2020
Pages Stained With Blood by Indira Goswami
Translated by : Pradip Acharya
It's like reading a diary entries of someone, though these diary entries have crucial and important information regarding Delhi.
The story follows a young Assamese woman who teaches at the University of Delhi and is an author, staying in the Shakti Nagar area of Delhi. She is busy writing a book on Delhi and regularly jots down anything that crosses her mind. It shows the Delhi from a eye of a woman who wants to experience everything on her own before writing about it, be it people like Santokh Singh, Balbir and the Sikh Baba or be it her visit to G B Road or many other historical places. The Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in Amritsar brings sudden twist to the novel and the protagonist plunges headlong into the crisis for most of the people she is close to are Sikhs, so the last pages of this book shows it's effect in Delhi in the form of riots and killing of sikhs and how it affect the her life.
The author has captured Delhi in such a beautiful way in her daily diary entries. I enjoyed reading this book.
Translated by : Pradip Acharya
It's like reading a diary entries of someone, though these diary entries have crucial and important information regarding Delhi.
The story follows a young Assamese woman who teaches at the University of Delhi and is an author, staying in the Shakti Nagar area of Delhi. She is busy writing a book on Delhi and regularly jots down anything that crosses her mind. It shows the Delhi from a eye of a woman who wants to experience everything on her own before writing about it, be it people like Santokh Singh, Balbir and the Sikh Baba or be it her visit to G B Road or many other historical places. The Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in Amritsar brings sudden twist to the novel and the protagonist plunges headlong into the crisis for most of the people she is close to are Sikhs, so the last pages of this book shows it's effect in Delhi in the form of riots and killing of sikhs and how it affect the her life.
The author has captured Delhi in such a beautiful way in her daily diary entries. I enjoyed reading this book.
August 25, 2025
It was a weird book to say the least. It starts of in a frenzy manner with timelines shifting from one past to another, which is very apt for the book which is haunted by violence. From the beginning we hear tells from the narrator about stories of violence from stories of violence in partition to stories of battle of Kashmiri gate, she himself seems indulged in those stories witnessing them through their traces in her imagination until she herself becomes part of one such story among numerous of violence. Delhi feels like a city of chaos with people going haywire through their routines but their is also another side to it of continuity and perhaps sadly it’s the continuity of violence. Sometimes people become monuments themselves of this haunted city, look at Sikh Baba for example a monument of partition all he can do is look and remind us, his refusal to speak acts as a meta act, just like the city he doesn't speak he is just a passive witness. To say this book made me troubled would be a understatement, it was perhaps first time I felt and followed riots so closely through a text. Just like the author the traces of 1984 will be there with me
January 30, 2022
Pages Stained With Blood by Indira Goswami, it's like a diary entry of the unnamed protagonist during the time of 1984. The riots happening in Delhi, What People of Delhi was going through specifically Sikhs.
This book offers us history of Delhi, when the protagonist visit places for her research, she meet people who tells stories about those places, there's mention of many poets and poems. Though I was expecting more about the riots of 1984, but in these pages it's a daily entry of her life. Sometimes it was confusing to keep up, but the writing style keeps you engaging.
I really enjoyed reading this book, i loved getting to know more about Delhi, and the way this book will break your heart when you'll read about all that was happening at that time, and if you're someone who's interested about knowing history then this book is a treasure you don't wanna miss.
This book offers us history of Delhi, when the protagonist visit places for her research, she meet people who tells stories about those places, there's mention of many poets and poems. Though I was expecting more about the riots of 1984, but in these pages it's a daily entry of her life. Sometimes it was confusing to keep up, but the writing style keeps you engaging.
I really enjoyed reading this book, i loved getting to know more about Delhi, and the way this book will break your heart when you'll read about all that was happening at that time, and if you're someone who's interested about knowing history then this book is a treasure you don't wanna miss.
June 12, 2023
I picked it up as it came up in the “translated Indian works to read” list. It said it’s a novel. It’s not. It’s exactly what’s listed on the back cover- pages from a diary. So obviously there is some continuity, but fragmented enough not to be a novel or novella. I guess if I had picked it up as a diary read, I would have liked it more? I was looking for a novel and this wasn’t. The writing is good and it’s a very short read, so no regrets. But not the best book to read with the background of the partition-india and emergency-india time period.
March 21, 2021
I picked up my first Indira Goswami book and I was definitely not disappointed in PAGES STAINED IN BLOOD. It is a sort of diary that the auhtor kept in 1984 as she went about Delhi collecting stories for her book on Delhi. Since I myself am planning on moving to Delhi sometime soon, I loved reading the descriptions. But we all know the importance of this year. We get a very in-depth view of the SIkh riots and the subsequent assassination of Indira Gandhi. Overall, I liked this book!
April 20, 2014
Disappointed. Was expecting more of the 1984 riots from the celebrated author. But the core issue has been relegated to the last few pages of the book. For most part, it is more of the day to day ramblings of the author.
April 25, 2015
A personal struggle very deftly portrayed.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews