Border Post 99: No Man's Land

by Kedar Patankar

March, 2011 - In the pine forest that marks the No Man's Land along the volatile India-Pakistan border, leopards roam freely across enemy lines, instigating fear in a pair of rival soldiers who are each guarding an illegal post and trying desperately to follow the strict orders they've been given: Don't shoot.

Lt. Sharma is a 25-year-old Indian rookie, fresh out of military training school and longing to return home. Captain Khan is a war-weary Pakistani veteran whose only desire is to be left alone with his thoughts. When the men are suddenly forced to acknowledge one another's presence, their nerves begin to fray and their tempers fly high. Sharma and Khan launch into a fierce duel of wits and egos that can only end when one of them dies.

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2015

About the author

Kedar Patankar spent the first half of his life in Mumbai and the second half between Minnesota and California. He now lives with his family in the San Francisco Bay area, where he is an engineer by day and a writer by night. He has worked as a storyboard artist, an assistant director, and an executive producer on short films and a feature film shot in Minnesota and India; he writes short stories, screenplays, and a blog, and has recently completed a draft of a thousand-page novel.

Kedar was brought up among stories and wonderful storytellers, and he fell in love with books early on. His maternal and paternal grandfathers, an uncle, and some cousins all fought in the Indian Army, and the tales they told of World War II and the border wars over Kashmir enthralled Kedar when he was a child. Even now, when he can’t fall asleep, he concocts a story for himself, and Border Post 99 is one of them.

Reviews

[Shaimaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You should flow like water through life."

The story is set, as the title suggests, in the Indian-Pakistani border where the post should be non-existent. The events take place in March, 2011 during the peace talks in Delhi.

The story is about the 25-year-old Indian Lieutenant Mangesh Sharma, and The Pakistani Captain Abid Khan and their engagements. Both of them are sent in a mission to patrol at the border between their countries after being informed that their mission is just a simple precautionary measure, and that they would never encounter another person. After a few weeks, each knows of the other's presence. They start setting some military traps to mock the other since they have been strictly ordered not to shoot. One night, with the intention of setting a trap, Khan enters Sharma's tent and sees photos of Bhagatpur, Sharma's town. Khan asks Sharma about the town, but the latter gets suspicious, and does not answer. After that, Khan writes to his grandfather, who writes back a letter about his past. Khan leaves the letter for Sharma to read. Khan's grandfather and Sharma's grandparents are revealed to be friends and neighbours before the 1947 division.

Sharma thinks they were destined to meet in that no man's land because their roots go back together. Before Sharma decides to take any action, Major Jadhav, Sharma's boss, approaches with ten soldiers to take offensive at Post 99. They intend to shoot the Pakistani soldier, but Sharma alarms him with a sign they have once agreed on, leaving Khan falling into Sharma's former trap and rescuing him from the Indian soldiers.

The story focuses on the aftermaths of the heart-breaking India-Pakistan division, and how it altered things, separated one from his or her original home, and killed so many people. It is an engaging, moving story that reached me especially because I have watched many Bollywood movies about this subject. It is so sad to think of how many people had to endure all of that. Family relationships and patriotism are the main themes of the story. Sharma keeps photographs of his family and town with him while Khan prefers to write letters to his grandfather and mother and wife. Sharma and Khan do their jobs out of a sense of duty.

The book was good, but the ending was too open for my taste.

[Shilpi Chaklanobis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Border post 99 is a novella that is different from the usual run of the mill books and is well narrated with a series of interesting events. The backdrop and the storyline is quite unique and interesting that actually prompted me to read the book and the author has been successful in building the atmosphere and the tension. The narration is very good and descriptive which actually makes the reader visualise the whole scenario. The author has done a good amount of research before writing the book and that makes the story seem very realistic.

Read full review at http://mybookshelf.in/book-reviews/border-post-99-by-kedar-patankar-book-review/

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good, inspirational story.

[Sumit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kedar, great job on this novella! Look forward to reading your new novel!

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a read that I had a tough time becoming invested in. Right from the beginning, I felt I was in fog as to what exactly was happening. As time went, I was able to better grasp the situation at hand.

When the character’s perspective changed unexpectedly, I had to stop and pause because there was no clear break or warning. Because of this it was extremely difficult to understand when the switching happened and I found myself re-reading certain sections to decipher whose perspective the author was focusing on. To be honest, I kept getting both characters, Khan and Sharma, mixed up because their personalities were extremely similar.

Read my full review here:
https://bookloverblogs.com/2017/07/12...

*This was part of the OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day Program*