Sakoon

by Nishith Vasavada

Sakoon is the story of one young woman’s courage to raise her voice against tyranny and injustice. The time is the early 1980s. Pakistan is pressed between the Soviet Union, now occupying Afghanistan, and its archenemy India. As if that were not enough, the country is torn from within by ethnic conflict and violent demonstrations to restore democracy. Dictator General Zia-ul-Haq turns to Islam and jihad as the twin saviors of the crumbling state.

Growing up in Karachi, Pakistan, Sakeena is a carefree girl who falls in love with Rohan, her brother’s best friend. As Zia-ul-Haq attempts to Islamize the country, Sakeena and Rohan are caught unexpectedly in the erupting ethnic conflict due to events beyond their control. Rohan makes a haunting choice when he is caught suddenly in the middle of a gunfight. Sakeena exposes violence on her campus, landing her in trouble with the powerful Islamists. Their only potential savior is an ISI spy, who is seeking his own redemption for his family’s shameful past.

Sakoon is the author’s sincere attempt to explore his late mother’s yearning for the Karachi she was forced to leave in 1947. Herself a victim of ethnic cleansing, she was never to return and left always to wonder why—and to wonder what happened to the place she once called home, to her neighbors and friends, and to the immaculate avenues washed weekly but smeared eventually with innocent blood.

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 20, 2013

Reviews

[Ravi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very gripping story set in Karachi in the 80s, Nishith takes us through the lives of two well to do families who migrated from India during Partition. I finished reading the book within a day. The Partition of India plays a major role in the story having shaped most characters in the story.

I really liked the characters in the story - especially the romance between Sakeena and Rohan. The book explores the numerous identities in Pakistan - Muhajir versus local, Sunni versus Shia, Sindhi vs Pashto vs Punjabi - and how they were all at odds with each other though sometimes they work together. The author also describes the rise of fundamental Islam in South Asia which is detrimental to societies across borders in the sub continent. It makes me wonder how different things would have been had India not been divided.

[Akshara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a book which will force you to stop and reassess your much influenced and clouded views about Pakistan, its people and its history. I loved it. The portrayal of Sakeena, the appropriate balance of courage and fear, her chemistry with Rohan, everything is perfect. It also brings into light the tragedy which was the partition of India, from Pakistan's POV. The plot is engaging and if time permits, one can easily finish the book at one go. The historical significance mixed with romance and a young mind narrating the story will successfully attract readers of all ages in my opinion. A must read.

[TIRTH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review in ONE line:'A quintessential South Asian' story!

Reading this book really serves many purposes..It shows us a glimpse in a South Asian life..Be it India,Pakistan or Bangladesh...Social life and stigmas are almost identical..Though aftermath of breaking these social rules differ to a great degree between India and Pakistan,with B'desh being in the middle of these two..

This is a love/adventure story with a backdrop of India's painful partition..The story has many genuine,wayy too realistic characters..A strong and independant female lead Sakeena who is also the main narrator of the story,is archetypal South Asian girl in her 20s..So is the male lead Rohan..This book depicts their love story their hardships,and their struggle with on-going political/sectarian strife in the ever-turbulent Pakistan..The book is in form of narration by multiple characters mainly Sakeena and Rohan,but also their dads and brothers..It took me some time to get used to this format of story telling,it was like that movie 'Vantage point'..Like one incident narrated with multiple different perspectives..

One thing I genuinely liked the most was that how the book tells the story of India's partition,probably the greatest migration in our history number-wise..With millions of Hindus who used to live in those lands migrating to India and vice versa..It was bloody,it was painful and a real human tragedy..ALso the book illuminates the issue of social prejudices so rampant in pakistan against muslims who left India to live in the new Muslim homeland in South Asia-Pakistan..They were sure that once they came to Pakistan,life will be good and they will build a new nation..They left their India estates and businesses (And as in story relatives too)to be in Pakistan..To build a new nation,only to be rejected from fellow Pakistanis on the basis of them not being 'authentic' citizens of Pakistan!!The story tells of these shattered broken dreams..Dreams of a new inclusive,accepting life in Pakistan...

The story also is about two young hearts in love..Who have to overcome social barriers to fulfill their desire to spend their lives together..Even in these times,2014..Love marriage is a taboo in conservative South Asian cultures(mainly in Pakistan but this applies to India too where one's caste decides one's social standing even in 2014!!)..Being from India,I know these issues firsthand,but the book might be of interest to anyone who is not from South Asia,to understand the complexities of South Asian and Muslim cultures..Although being from the same religion,Pakistan of today is absolutely torn due to Shia-Sunni struggle..Local vs Mujahir(muslim migrants who came from India in 1947 after partition) struggle,Pakistan vs Afghanistan issues and many others..Almost at the brink..Almost on a breaking point(as per WH report I just read yesterday Pak is on a brink....This is what happens when Prime minister of that country invites Talibans to a freaking CRICKET match!!I mean come on!!))..The book is an interesting one for whoever wants to know more about social dynamisms and interplay of these numerous factors that construct the complex Pakistani culture of today..

The book has three main storylines..Love story and history and adventures..

The love story part is very smooth..I liked it as this is a quintessential South Asian love story..Two young hearts love each other and want to spend their lives each other but they have to struggle to achieve that due to stigmas and social complexities..I will touch this base again after a while in this review!!

The part I enjoyed very much is the history part..It is very real and the pain of partition is still felt in the Indian subcontinent across the border..Sakoon is a story of Indian muslim migrant families and how the desire of a leading politician(
It is relevant even today and therefore the history part makes the Sakoon a compelling read!!This book is a must read for readers who enjoy historical fictions...

The book has something for adventure lovers too..As the book is action packed and after first 10 chapters,fast paced and with a thrilling plot..Sakoon captivated me with its love story,violence and adventures..The story is about on campus struggle between student unions,about how the Pakistani dictator had banned other student unions who did not agree with his vision of Pakistan..And how religious fundamentalism can ruin lives of people..It is all very real and it impacts all countries of South Asia to a degree but Pakistan has the most problem among all these nations..IN the story,I liked the character of Kaneez,who is a brave Afghan girl.who wants to become a reporter and tell her story,how she takes on a thug union leader Ahmed Khan and how it makes her and her mother's lives complicated..Kaneez and her mom are my most favorite side-characters of the story...

The plot of the story in a nutshell:Sakeena,a young lady in her 20s loves her brother Anwar's best friend Rohan Qureshi and dreams about marrying him..Rohan feels the same about her..Sakeena comes in touch of Kaneez's mom who is a passionate writer from Afghanistan,eager to tell her story,this makes Sakeena want to write and express herself too..And they interview a thug which leads to trouble..I won't give away many spoilers but the story is really interesting and captivating,it has something for everyone....It's a tragedy in 2014 that the most time these two lovers could spend together without being judged by family,friends and strangers was the time the two spent together in their situation!!But that's South Asia for you!(To any1 who is reading this review and is not from South Asia-Have you ever imagined best friend of a neighbour of your 5th cousin's aunt getting all worked up to find a suitable boy/girl for you??THAT happens in India and other countries of the subcontinent!Thats a reality and thats why any westerner or non-South Asian who wants to know more about South Asian complexities should read this book!!)..I admired Sakeena's courage and passion about expressing herself much like real life Pakistani super hero Malala..In my mind Sakeena is the hands-down main character of the story....

Another thing I liked the most about the sakoon is its characters-other than the main heroine Sakeena,the story has a bevy of strong realistic characters..Most notables among them being Kaneez and her mother as I said earlier,but also Nabeela,Rohan's idealistic kind hearted grandmother,who is the moral voice of reason of her family..In the beginning I liked her character the most of them all... The format of the story is narrations by multiple characters as I said earlier,which caused me some confusion,but at the same time this format made the story very likable,in a way like when you read the story you feel that you are there,in the front of that character and he/she is telling you the story in person!!It was interesting!!The story has better female characters compared to male characters and I liked it too(I am a feminist!)..Rohan is certainly the best male character in the book..But both his grandfather and Sakeena's dad, and Sakeena's brother Anwar also have compelling stories of their lives to tell us,the readers!!
Another interesting character is that of Col.Majid..Who is an ISI agent and his story is that of a redemption of sins of his brother..This was very moving and inspiring actually..
The author has mastered the art of giving life to ordinary characters like Rickshaw driver Lala Latif..His character shows us that India or Pakistan,common decency still remains in hearts of average people of these two nations..And there's still hope for us all!

The book has a clear message to us all,to all the countries,that unchecked religious fanaticism will invariably lead to demise of a nation...Be it Pakistan or India..Self serving and corrupt leaders who brainwash their people to serve their narrow self interest will ultimately cause downfall of themselves as well as their countries..In the end who suffer the most are humans,like us,who are all the same..Just humans who want a good life and don't get it because of this denial and fundamentalism..Which is really sad..

How I liked/felt about diff parts of the story-

The beginning-It was a little confusing as I kinda struggled to remember back-stories of individual characters..This phase lasted like for 10 chapters after that the flow of the story became lucid..
Sakeena and Rohan's love story-I liked it..
Sakeena and Kaneez's adventures and encounters with thugs..My most fav part of the story
The climax-also very very fast paced and action packed..Thrilling..This is around 65% mark and lasts till almost 95% mark of the book..
The aftermath-it was good..
The end-I liked it too..
The plot-very realistic,fast and lucid after first 10 chapters..
Narration-Confusing at the beginning but one gets used to it after a while..and brings a new dimension to the story..
The history-this is a bonus in the story.The historical background of the partition and riots,broken dreams and the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971(the war in which India won and created Bangladesh!Yay!)..It all was very intriguing..Being an Indian,I am proud of India's triumphs in these wars but knowing the Pakistani perspective on the war was interesting in the book..False sense of pride and unwillingness to accept and face reality leads to creation of chaos and Pakistan of today is an example of that ..(Like blaming everything on 'Zionists' when there are almost NO Zionist or even Jewish people who live inside Pakistan For example!....This absolves them from facing realities and finding a way out of chaos..This is sad but leaders make up such fictions to save their faces in their people and the problem/chaos continues!!)..

WHo will like Sakoon the most-

Those who want to remember 'Good ole days'before the partition..
Young readers who like historical fictions(like me)..
Feminists and readers who like to read stories with a strong female lead..
Readers who love romance and love stories..
Readers who like adventure/action books...
Readers who are open minded and want to know the Pakistani perspective on the country's struggles and history.
A westerner or any one who wants to know complexities of Pakistani culture..
This actually includes almost anybody!!So I highly recommend the book to you all!
Thank you!!

[Cynthia Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Full and Detailed review, see http://cynthology.blogspot.com/2015/0...

Sakoon, Arabic for Peace, by Nishith Vasavada deftly marries history and fiction to create a mesmerizing tale about a nation in deep unrest that touches you with its intensity and honesty. From the beginning, one gets a sense of tumult and turmoil, and yet in the midst of these, Sakeena Husain, whose name means tranquility, lives life as a privileged college student who has a crush on her brother Anwar’s best friend, Rohan Qureshi.

The setting is liberal, fashionable Karachi but it is the early ‘80s, when General Zia-ul-Haq is in power. A strict interpretation of Islam is slowly coming into focus, changing the dynamics of life for the people, especially women, and changing, for the worse, the face of modern Pakistan.

The chapters are told from randomly alternating first person viewpoints of Sakeena, Rohan and Munir Qureshi, Rohan’s grandfather. The characterization is realistic and true to detail. I must make a mention about the plot development. At the beginning of the book, both Sakeena and Rohan are carefree, wealthy teenagers. Naïve about life, Sakeena knows nothing about the other Karachi, one of deprivation, filth and misery that lies carefully hidden from her life of privilege. Through the course of the novel, they both discover the other side of Pakistan, and realize firsthand the turbulence that pervades the land that their ancestors have made their own. Their characters make radical choices that shape their own destinies and alter their circumstances forever.

The similarities, both good and bad that Pakistan shares with India, strike you immediately. There are of course the basic similarities of food and colour and the raucousness and chaos of life that strike the Westerner more often than they do us. It makes one wonder why we don’t get along when we have so much in common. But there is the other side to it. Like India, Pakistan is mired in divisions of caste, creed and region, unable to embrace its own people, unable to live and let live. We are both deeply entrenched in the shackles of patriarchy.

Reading Sakoon, I felt a tinge of sadness for all those whose lives were uprooted in the wake of the Partition. It helped me understand the sense of betrayal they feel at how the idea that had once captured their imagination has let them down. Vasavada offers a critique on the crumbling state of Pakistan, hemmed as it was in the ‘80s between the Soviet Union which occupies neighbouring Afghanistan, and its nemesis, India.

At school, we learn hardly anything about the history of the subcontinent and how it relates to the world, and even when we do, we reduce it to a banal memorization of facts and dates. Historical fiction is an effective tool for teaching history and making it come alive.

Sakoon is the kind of story that seems made for celluloid. If that happens, I’d still say, read the book.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Partition is a part of history with an aftermath lingering longer than we realized. The inner conflict within Pakistan divided many families through violence and choices. The never ending ethnic conflicts, violent demonstrations in order to restore democracy take a toll.

Sakoon introduces us to two young adults caught within the inner conflict of Pakistan. One courageous young woman Sakeema, exposes violence on her college campus. A brave young man Rohan, caught in a gunfight makes a decision altering his life in ways he never imagined.

Sakoon tells of Sakeema and Rohan in a uncertain time in a turbulent country. Their choices have severe ramifications and consequences. Two young adults caught in the crossfire in a country they call home. Failing to fully understand the continuing issues, trying to mend the gap, they find themselves casualties of ongoing conflict.

Sakoon was an eye opener exposing the inner conflicts past and present in Pakistan. A county torn by its geographical location and its citizens. Ethnic lines clearly divide this country in the quest for restoring democracy. Rarely is Partition addressed and yet it is a large part of history. After reading Sakoon the reader contemplates Pakistan and its future. Will the conflicts ever end? Will democracy be fully restored? Will this nations people finally have a home and feel as if its home? So many questions in the air allowing time to answer the unknown.

Great story and wonderful effort from Nishith Vasavada. I hope more books are written on Pakistan and/or Partition - both known but not clearly explained or understood. An enigma of sorts in the eyes of outsiders. Perhaps misunderstood, whatever the circumstance more light should be shed on this part of history altering so many lives and countries.

[Nitin Bhatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sakoon is a story of a young Pakistani girl who shows remarkable courage and determination against heavy odds. The story narrates how a pair of young lovers overcome insurmountable odds.

The author has written in a gripping,fluid style about prevailing conditions in Pakistan.How the country is pressed between Soviet Union and India and how its ethnic conflicts is tearing it apart.

The narration takes the reader right in the heart of Karachi.It vividly portrays the divide between rich and poor.

This book will certainly attract young generation who is barely aware about the turmoil and tragedy of partition of India.At the same time, it will enthrall them with the tale of how the young hearts beat the same way across the globe.

Nitin Bhatt.

[Khaleel Datay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story, even though its not my usual genre. The first person narrative from several characters viewpoint is a bit confusing. Took a while to get the hang of it. Its a beautiful love story,set in the turmoil of post partition Pakistan. Gives a wonderful insight into the extreme trauma wreaked upon families with forced removals, race riots and oppressive cultural norms. The main characters of Sakeena and Rohan have you rooting for them all the way through their budding romance. The contrast between the ghettoes of Karachi and the affluent suburbs are stark and depressing. Student politics, a murder and family fueds all form part to make an explosive ending.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story of courage, love and conflict. The author portrayed the deepest of human desires for all societies ...equality, security and prosperity within a peaceful setting. This glimpse with in a society beset with ethnic conflict and destruction is painful, yet love and determination prove more powerful than the contempt of a dictatorship. Highly recommend this book.

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It has adventure, romance, and history. After reading it, I realize I know very little about the history of Pakistan. This book has definitely sparked an interest in me into the history and people of that country. I do hope the author has another book in the works.

[Mukesh Mehta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really Very Interesting and Realistic. Partition was one of the Darkest Chapter in the History of India & Pakistan. People still experience pain after 65 years. I strongly recommend this book to all.

[Suketu Vasavada · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent narrative of post partition era in Pakistan. A must read for those who like history/romance/thrill.

[Alison]

kindle 287 (toreadsoon)

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A heartwrenching story of love and loss...loss of loved ones and loss of a way of life. Unfortunately the writing is very choppy, with a lot of dropped and misspelled words.