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Peace Has Come
When violence has seeped into the very soil and water of a place, the peace that follows is poisoned too. And everywhere, stories rise to the surface. In the uneasy, purgatory-like time of ceasefire, there is a sense of renewed optimism. An old man recalls the dream romance of Rwmaii and Sylvia, interrupted by her marriage to a militant. A journalist doesn’t know what to do with a murder story that could have been a scoop. A mysterious gun-flute man maintains both peace and terror. An unlikely acquaintance walks Sultana home through an undeclared curfew. In Parismita Singh’s luminous, haunting stories of these years of imminent peace, the rivers, forests, villages, and the many cultures of a small place – Rabha, Bodo, Santhal, Nepali, Koch-Rajbongshi, Muslim – come blazingly alive. To read these stories is to rewire our ideas of war, resolution, and the lives that are lived in between.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 20, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 reviews
June 4, 2021
"Their road, she liked to joke, was like the peace; too slow to get there, too fractious and fragmented, like a garment caught on a nail, every slight movement ripping it further.”
One can immediately see that Singh's stories are rooted in the everyday struggles of people. She avoids graphic and hyperviolent imagery, finding creative ways to talk about the Assamese insurgency and its aftermath without dulling its impact or tragedy. In that way, her prose might veer toward simple but it is arresting, expressive, and evocative, expertly painting a scene & bringing characters to life through their food habits & attire descriptions. Singh is careful about her craft. Many stories cleverly play with structure. There are nested narratives, reverse chronology, triptychs, vignettes.
She offer a diverse set of viewpoints, giving stories from the perspective of individuals of various ethnic groups. These subtle stories have a strong sense of place. My favourites include "An Incident in Late Autumn", "Peace Has Come: A Triptych", "A Night In Dadgiri". Stories like "The Stranger" or "Looking for Mongru" or "The Relief Grant" can feel a little stretched out but it is rare to be bored. Singh exposes the sham of 'peace' and how it is always the common people who suffer most but even if sad, it's not all doom & gloom.
December 24, 2020
The book is divided into 8 short stories:
➡️A Time Made of Glass (my favourite)
➡️The Relief Grant
➡️An Incident in Late Autumn
➡️A Night in Dadgiri
➡️ Looking for Mongru (another favorite)
➡️ Sultana Walks Home
➡️ The Stranger
➡️ Peace Has Come: A Triptych I. The House by the Highway II. The Boys on a Haystack III. The Letter (awesome ending!)
Basically all the stories are based in Assam during the times of violence and political unrest. The characters are endearing and show how people can live happily with minimum needs. Their difficult lives have been portrayed so beautifully in each story. Most of the stories portray the hardships faced during such tumultuous times , lacking basic luxuries of modern life like electricity and proper travel facilities. There is a touch of personal history of each main character with a touch of suspense in each story keeping the reader hooked till the end. (I m not including the spoilers!) The stories are well woven with real places (✅the book begins with a map of the places mentioned) and realistic scenarios with references of events that actually happened.
👍 Realistic characters & events
👍 Well scripted
👍 Hardcover, beautiful jacket cover
👍 Title holds the perfect irony
👍 Suspense kept well in each story
👍 Tells a lot about the lifestyle and the people residing there
👍 Portrays well how war/political unrest affects daily life 👍 Each story starts with an awesome sketch/doodle
👎 Some stories seem really long but I am not complaining!👌
🌡️If you think war stories are out of your genre & if you feel like knowing the people living at another part of the country a bit more , just pick up this book. You will be surprised how much you can relate with the characters!
✔️ Recommended!
➡️A Time Made of Glass (my favourite)
➡️The Relief Grant
➡️An Incident in Late Autumn
➡️A Night in Dadgiri
➡️ Looking for Mongru (another favorite)
➡️ Sultana Walks Home
➡️ The Stranger
➡️ Peace Has Come: A Triptych I. The House by the Highway II. The Boys on a Haystack III. The Letter (awesome ending!)
Basically all the stories are based in Assam during the times of violence and political unrest. The characters are endearing and show how people can live happily with minimum needs. Their difficult lives have been portrayed so beautifully in each story. Most of the stories portray the hardships faced during such tumultuous times , lacking basic luxuries of modern life like electricity and proper travel facilities. There is a touch of personal history of each main character with a touch of suspense in each story keeping the reader hooked till the end. (I m not including the spoilers!) The stories are well woven with real places (✅the book begins with a map of the places mentioned) and realistic scenarios with references of events that actually happened.
👍 Realistic characters & events
👍 Well scripted
👍 Hardcover, beautiful jacket cover
👍 Title holds the perfect irony
👍 Suspense kept well in each story
👍 Tells a lot about the lifestyle and the people residing there
👍 Portrays well how war/political unrest affects daily life 👍 Each story starts with an awesome sketch/doodle
👎 Some stories seem really long but I am not complaining!👌
🌡️If you think war stories are out of your genre & if you feel like knowing the people living at another part of the country a bit more , just pick up this book. You will be surprised how much you can relate with the characters!
✔️ Recommended!
May 24, 2019
Peace has come is divided into 10 beautifully written stories, each one hauntingly beautiful, making you realize the brutality of war and unnecessary violence. Yes, the stories are fictional, but the themes they revolve around are real and real people suffer because of them and have to pay a great price. I was instantly fond of how some of the stories end on a vague note, making the reader decide or come to a conclusion on their own.
November 8, 2022
Peace Has Come by Parismita Singh was my Assam read for my #ReadingIndia challenge.
This collection of stories gets its name from the last story, a ‘triptych’ work. And it is in the last of these three pieces that the painful irony of the title is forcefully brought home. However, violence or its shadow and the absence of peace of mind, is reflected in almost every story in this book.
There is something terrifying in the way Singh crafts stories like ‘A Night in Dadgiri’ or ‘Looking for Mongru’. The fear Singh’s stories reflect is not the gore of horror movies but a lurking dread that hovers over the lives of people who are wary of unfamiliar sounds and unfamiliar persons having lived through violence that can come from neighbouring communities, insurgent groups, the Army, law enforcement. There is in them a reminder that for many who have lived through this violence, the peace is difficult to trust.
Almost all ethnic populations of Assam are represented in this collection, which also seems to drive home the point that no matter what your background, the violence in the state has coloured your life.
‘Sultana Walks Home’ is an interesting story. At a time when our politics have divided us into seemingly extreme factions, this is a simple tale about flawed human beings and how they might be imperfect but also just what we need. Singh’s stories are unexpected and atmospheric, probably none more so than ‘The Stranger’.
Singh is also a visual artist and I loved all of her illustrations in this hardbound copy which has a beautiful (seemingly incongruous) cover designed by Bhavi Mehta. Singh’s visual approach is perhaps best reflected in the story ‘An Incident in Autumn’ which is written like a series of flashbacks from different perspectives and feels like a camera zooming in on different details on a large canvas.
For all its heavy subject matter, Singh’s writing didn’t weigh me down. Her characters felt real and evoked empathy. Her writing felt gentle and deft and not rushed. Like her illustrations, her writing too captured both a moment and a life.
This collection of stories gets its name from the last story, a ‘triptych’ work. And it is in the last of these three pieces that the painful irony of the title is forcefully brought home. However, violence or its shadow and the absence of peace of mind, is reflected in almost every story in this book.
There is something terrifying in the way Singh crafts stories like ‘A Night in Dadgiri’ or ‘Looking for Mongru’. The fear Singh’s stories reflect is not the gore of horror movies but a lurking dread that hovers over the lives of people who are wary of unfamiliar sounds and unfamiliar persons having lived through violence that can come from neighbouring communities, insurgent groups, the Army, law enforcement. There is in them a reminder that for many who have lived through this violence, the peace is difficult to trust.
Almost all ethnic populations of Assam are represented in this collection, which also seems to drive home the point that no matter what your background, the violence in the state has coloured your life.
‘Sultana Walks Home’ is an interesting story. At a time when our politics have divided us into seemingly extreme factions, this is a simple tale about flawed human beings and how they might be imperfect but also just what we need. Singh’s stories are unexpected and atmospheric, probably none more so than ‘The Stranger’.
Singh is also a visual artist and I loved all of her illustrations in this hardbound copy which has a beautiful (seemingly incongruous) cover designed by Bhavi Mehta. Singh’s visual approach is perhaps best reflected in the story ‘An Incident in Autumn’ which is written like a series of flashbacks from different perspectives and feels like a camera zooming in on different details on a large canvas.
For all its heavy subject matter, Singh’s writing didn’t weigh me down. Her characters felt real and evoked empathy. Her writing felt gentle and deft and not rushed. Like her illustrations, her writing too captured both a moment and a life.
March 21, 2021
"Peace had come to this land, and they were the only ones to know."
"Peace Has Come" is a collection of eight short stories that capture the essence of diverse ethnicities, languages, cultures, religious beliefs, culinary habits of North East India. One specific attribute that binds all the stories is how they depict the scars of long drawn battles, insurgency, student movements, riots on local communities. Author utilises a variation of narration styles and characters along with specific geographic and historic features to make us look at the stories in specific context.
Recommended read for every Indian to move beyond stereotypical biases towards understanding the conditions and turmoil of the seven sister state's citizens.
"Peace Has Come" is a collection of eight short stories that capture the essence of diverse ethnicities, languages, cultures, religious beliefs, culinary habits of North East India. One specific attribute that binds all the stories is how they depict the scars of long drawn battles, insurgency, student movements, riots on local communities. Author utilises a variation of narration styles and characters along with specific geographic and historic features to make us look at the stories in specific context.
Recommended read for every Indian to move beyond stereotypical biases towards understanding the conditions and turmoil of the seven sister state's citizens.
August 3, 2019
This was my first book in the short story genre and I have loved it with all my heart.
Compiled with ten beautiful stories which were dark and dreading at the same time.
'A time made of glass' was my personal favorite along with 'the stranger'. Each story encapsulates the reader in it's fearful yet wonderful zone. Also some of the characters are lovable.
It gives you an idea, if not the perspective, about the situation in Assam, concerns of the communities, be it bodo, santhali or Muslim.
Writing style of the book is simple and intriguing.
Recommended to all.
Looking forward to read more of the North Eastern literature.
Compiled with ten beautiful stories which were dark and dreading at the same time.
'A time made of glass' was my personal favorite along with 'the stranger'. Each story encapsulates the reader in it's fearful yet wonderful zone. Also some of the characters are lovable.
It gives you an idea, if not the perspective, about the situation in Assam, concerns of the communities, be it bodo, santhali or Muslim.
Writing style of the book is simple and intriguing.
Recommended to all.
Looking forward to read more of the North Eastern literature.
September 27, 2021
เรารู้เกี่ยวกับรัฐอัสสัมน้อยมากกกกก สะดุดปกล้วนๆ พอหาอ่านตัวอย่างในคินเดิลก็โดนเรื่องแรกในเล่มนี้ตกอย่างจัง A Time Made of Glass ชอบตั้งแต่ชื่อบทเลย และกลอนที่สุดย้อนแย้งกับชื่อหนังสือ นี่ละ ความไออนนิกนี้ละที่ถูกใจเป็นพิเศษ
Poetry is not for the heroes
Felled by bullets and betrayal.
They do not need your rhymes
They are at rest.
It is for the other times
For the ones
Who at the end of the fight
Crawl out of their caves
Inching towards the light.
For in every war, there are the drifters
The scoundrels, cheats, the damned, the doubters
Who do not know what they seek.
Their nerves are shot, their flesh is weak
For them I write.
Poetry is not for the heroes.
ชีวิตรักของหนุ่มสาวถูกทำลายลงเพราะความสุขสงบที่มาถึงเพียงครึ่งๆ กลางๆ โลกในอุดมคติเหมือนจะอยู่ที่ไหนสักแห่ง และมันไม่ใช่ในรัฐอัสสัมที่ยังคุกรุ่นระหว่างชนกลุ่มน้อยในพื้นที่กับเจ้าหน้าที่รัฐ และระหว่างชนกลุ่มน้อยด้วยกัน ไม่ว่าจะเป็นชาวโบโด สันทาลี ราบาส เนปาล เบงกอล บังคาเทศ มุสลิม อินเดียตอนเหนือเป็นพื้นที่รุ่มรวยวัฒนธรรม รวมถึงความขัดแย้ง
Peace announced the beginning of a new war
8 เรื่องสั้นถักทอชีวิตของชาวอัสสัมที่ติดอยู่ระหว่างความไม่สงบ และความทรงจำที่ยังหลอกหลอนอยู่หลังจากนั้น เล่าเรื่องอย่างละเมียดละไมจากมุมมองคนธรรมดา ผ่านผู้คนที่ไม่ใช่ตัวเล่นหลักในกระบวนการสันติภาพหรือการปลดปล่อยโบโดแลนด์
Peace Has Come to this land, and they were the only ones to know.
การเล่าถึงโศกนาฏกรรมอย่างเรียบง่ายเสมือนเป็นตอนหนึ่งในชีวิต ไม่ได้ทำให้มันน่าหวาดกลัวหรือสั่นประสาท เราไม่รู้สึกถึงความหวาดกลัว หากแต่ใกล้เคียงความโศกเศร้ามากกว่า การจำยอมต้องอยู่กับความขัดแย้งแบบใหม่ที่สัญญาหยุดยิงไม่ได้ช่วยให้มันจบลง มันเพียงเปลี่ยนรูปแบบไปเท่านั้น และคนในพื้นที่ต้องหาวิธีรับมืออยู่ร่วมกับความหวาดระแวงนั้น สันติภาพที่มาถึงอย่างฉุกละหุกไม่ได้ทำให้ความรุนแรงมันเปลี่ยนแปลงในทางที่ด���ขึ้นทันทีทันใด มันเชื่องช้า เปราะบาง การกระทบกระเทือนเพียงเล็กน้อยก็อาจพังความสงบสุขที่เพิ่งแตกหน่อได้
Poetry is not for the heroes
Felled by bullets and betrayal.
They do not need your rhymes
They are at rest.
It is for the other times
For the ones
Who at the end of the fight
Crawl out of their caves
Inching towards the light.
For in every war, there are the drifters
The scoundrels, cheats, the damned, the doubters
Who do not know what they seek.
Their nerves are shot, their flesh is weak
For them I write.
Poetry is not for the heroes.
ชีวิตรักของหนุ่มสาวถูกทำลายลงเพราะความสุขสงบที่มาถึงเพียงครึ่งๆ กลางๆ โลกในอุดมคติเหมือนจะอยู่ที่ไหนสักแห่ง และมันไม่ใช่ในรัฐอัสสัมที่ยังคุกรุ่นระหว่างชนกลุ่มน้อยในพื้นที่กับเจ้าหน้าที่รัฐ และระหว่างชนกลุ่มน้อยด้วยกัน ไม่ว่าจะเป็นชาวโบโด สันทาลี ราบาส เนปาล เบงกอล บังคาเทศ มุสลิม อินเดียตอนเหนือเป็นพื้นที่รุ่มรวยวัฒนธรรม รวมถึงความขัดแย้ง
Peace announced the beginning of a new war
8 เรื่องสั้นถักทอชีวิตของชาวอัสสัมที่ติดอยู่ระหว่างความไม่สงบ และความทรงจำที่ยังหลอกหลอนอยู่หลังจากนั้น เล่าเรื่องอย่างละเมียดละไมจากมุมมองคนธรรมดา ผ่านผู้คนที่ไม่ใช่ตัวเล่นหลักในกระบวนการสันติภาพหรือการปลดปล่อยโบโดแลนด์
Peace Has Come to this land, and they were the only ones to know.
การเล่าถึงโศกนาฏกรรมอย่างเรียบง่ายเสมือนเป็นตอนหนึ่งในชีวิต ไม่ได้ทำให้มันน่าหวาดกลัวหรือสั่นประสาท เราไม่รู้สึกถึงความหวาดกลัว หากแต่ใกล้เคียงความโศกเศร้ามากกว่า การจำยอมต้องอยู่กับความขัดแย้งแบบใหม่ที่สัญญาหยุดยิงไม่ได้ช่วยให้มันจบลง มันเพียงเปลี่ยนรูปแบบไปเท่านั้น และคนในพื้นที่ต้องหาวิธีรับมืออยู่ร่วมกับความหวาดระแวงนั้น สันติภาพที่มาถึงอย่างฉุกละหุกไม่ได้ทำให้ความรุนแรงมันเปลี่ยนแปลงในทางที่ด���ขึ้นทันทีทันใด มันเชื่องช้า เปราะบาง การกระทบกระเทือนเพียงเล็กน้อยก็อาจพังความสงบสุขที่เพิ่งแตกหน่อได้
June 13, 2021
Peace has come is a collection of 8 not-so-short-yet-beautiful stories based on the lives and happening of people in Assam and the borders of India and Bhutan !! Slow , elegant and poised narration and sad yet memorable stories that will linger in your minds for a while.
I loved the first story A time made of glass and An incident in late autumn which I assume is a real life story. 🖤
Parismita Singh’s sheds light on a lot of political , societal, race, colour, nationality issues with details on the militant and army happenings. For someone who did not know much about the north-eastern part of India this book did help understand the culture , food and attire of these people I found myself doing a lot of google research while reading this book !! I realised how diverse the region is with so many different languages, religions and culture . Bengalis , Nepalis, Muslims, Santali’s , Bodo’s , Rabha’s and a lot that I cannot even recollect now ! 🥺
Assam has always been on my bucket list and this book has only set my expectations high. .. I hope to visit this place soon.. ❤️
I loved the first story A time made of glass and An incident in late autumn which I assume is a real life story. 🖤
Parismita Singh’s sheds light on a lot of political , societal, race, colour, nationality issues with details on the militant and army happenings. For someone who did not know much about the north-eastern part of India this book did help understand the culture , food and attire of these people I found myself doing a lot of google research while reading this book !! I realised how diverse the region is with so many different languages, religions and culture . Bengalis , Nepalis, Muslims, Santali’s , Bodo’s , Rabha’s and a lot that I cannot even recollect now ! 🥺
Assam has always been on my bucket list and this book has only set my expectations high. .. I hope to visit this place soon.. ❤️
September 9, 2021
A Slow but Calming Read!
'Peace Has Come ' is a collection of well articulated and touching short stories from Assam. Each narrative touches a different, and yet connected tales from across the communities that have seen the violence, as well as its aftermath.
Peace has come, and yet, the memories of the poisonous past seems to have left a deep- rooted fear and apprehension across the tormented land. A somewhat slow, but calming read!
'Peace Has Come ' is a collection of well articulated and touching short stories from Assam. Each narrative touches a different, and yet connected tales from across the communities that have seen the violence, as well as its aftermath.
Peace has come, and yet, the memories of the poisonous past seems to have left a deep- rooted fear and apprehension across the tormented land. A somewhat slow, but calming read!
January 8, 2019
Stories in this book shows how the life of locals got effected due to agitations. The stories are well written. Loved every story. Loved the book.
July 26, 2019
Peace has come...
Author:Parismita Sigh
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Review-
⚠The book is collection of well stretch short stories....
⚠For me the book was "overated" and frankly was dissapointed due to my high expectations...
⚠The only thing i enjoyed about this book was "writing style" of the author which switches time to time as per readers need and offcorse the "language"
⚠the book is "slow" but same time "calming"
⚠Each storyline is different and has something missing ...and disturbing...travelling u to various unheard stories ....from Rabha;Bodo;Santhal;Nepali etc culture and their backwardness to this real time....
⚠the books pours different ideas which serves different ideas of war ;resolutions and lives that live in between
⚠the book was 3.3🌟/5
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Author:Parismita Sigh
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Review-
⚠The book is collection of well stretch short stories....
⚠For me the book was "overated" and frankly was dissapointed due to my high expectations...
⚠The only thing i enjoyed about this book was "writing style" of the author which switches time to time as per readers need and offcorse the "language"
⚠the book is "slow" but same time "calming"
⚠Each storyline is different and has something missing ...and disturbing...travelling u to various unheard stories ....from Rabha;Bodo;Santhal;Nepali etc culture and their backwardness to this real time....
⚠the books pours different ideas which serves different ideas of war ;resolutions and lives that live in between
⚠the book was 3.3🌟/5
➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖➖
Displaying 1 - 12 of 13 reviews