Future Tense

by Nitasha Kaul

The son of a former militant, Fayaz is an aimless bureaucrat whose marriage to his wife Zeenat has broken down. His nephew Imran is a young student, a misfit in Srinagar, hoping to join a new kind of spectacular resistance. Shireen, the granddaughter of a spy, discovers how her painful and divisive family story is deeply intertwined with the history of Kashmir. The paths of these characters intersect and diverge in Nitasha Kaul’s tour de force novel Future Tense, which traces the competing trajectories of modernity and tradition, freedom and suffocation, and the possibility of bridging the stories of different kinds of Kashmiris.

298 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Naveed Qazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the characters in this novel are not deeply mired in conflict, like other novels on Kashmir, that have come out lately, the book has some interesting conversations between Kashmiri Muslim and Kashmiri Pandit characters, which makes this novel stand out in a way. The novel is filled with real history, real events, and real people. Sometimes, the reader feels that the author is giving fictional commentary of real events. That also makes the narrative pulsating and unique. The story not only revolves around Kashmir, but also JNU, Goa, Ladakh, or even Hong Kong. Personally, I really liked the lyrical quality of the ending chapter, an anecdote about a boatride of a mother with her son.

[Sahil Deshpande · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fair warning, this was my first foray into reading about Kashmir in such detail or even in this format. Given that background, was overall a good read but what I found more fascinating was the unconventional structure in the book which I would like to explore in this review.

The core essence of the book describes the interaction of a Hindu girl and a Muslim guy, who are grappling with their unique and conflicting stories of belongingness to Kashmir. When their dire histories results in their romance fizzling out, they pose the question that if two people so fond of each other are unable to reconcile over these differences, how challenging it really must be for ordinary people.

If I try to evaluate this as a novel in comparison to the standard, one can come up with a number of qualms, the story moves incredibly slow and most of the characters developed are given no page time (trying to invent a term analogous to screen time). However, the author carries the book in a very refreshing way and does a number of things really well.

Almost the entire first half of the book is filled with character development (or establishment) with almost no traversal into the actual story. With each character, the author goes into incredible depth, describing not just the background, present space but also emphasising their motivations, fears, most prevalent thoughts and certain formative memories. As we move from character to character there are just enough connections between consecutive descriptions that you don't get lost.

The drawback for me however, was that I got too invested in each of the characters but couldn't get to see anything happen to most of them or at least soon enough.

Even the story moves weirdly slowly, if seen holistically you won't notice a lot changing. The events are described more based on the feelings, thoughts and dreams of some of the characters involved than actual interactions, which I now realise can be done so well in books which is hardly possible in movies (to which I seem to be subconsciously relating to while imagining the structure).

As for the descriptions of Kashmir, it is rightly, mostly described through the perspective of certain individuals, rather than presenting a macro view, which is certainly interesting, but as someone unaware of most of the realities in these regions, I found most of it hard to relate to.

Overall, if I had to give a verdict, I wouldn't rate the story too highly, but what kept me in it was the unconventional narration and the mesmerising character descriptions.

[ReadnMarked · Rating 4 out of 5]

Future Tense by Nitasha Kaul and @harpercollinsin
Kashmir, a hot topic in the news every other day. We readers are always curious to read about Kashmir and many authors have tried to deliver a summary of the lives of people of Kashmir and what they deal with every day of their lives. Nitasha Kaul with her book ‘Future Tense’ has painted an amazing and truthful picture of the lives of people living in Kashmir. How their life is affected by the Indo-Pak war and how Kashmir is the centre of it all.
The book is divided into 3 parts and talk of the lives of many important characters who all are linked in one way or another. Each part has a central character around whom the story revolves. The first part talks of Fayaz and Zeenat and their broken marriage. The second part focuses on the life of Shireen who gets to know of her spy heritage and how this truth affects her life and the lives of people around her. The third and final part of the book is around the life of Imraan, Fayaz’s nephew and a son of a former militant.
Readers will love the way the author has carved each character and how their lives are so related and yet so different. Loved all the plot twists and turns.
The Book talks of the very common topics we hear about Kashmir such as stone pelting, Mujahideen, JNU and various affected places like Kargil, Leh, Srinagar, etc. The author has made use of some Kashmiri words to make it look familiar and provided the readers with an aura of Kashmir.
The research done by the author is commendable and the readers will be able to hear the voice of Kashmir and its people from within the words of the author.
For me, the book was a perfect balance of emotions, content and information which made it unputdownable.
Ratings:
Cover: 5/5 The use of wired font depicts the lack of freedom of Kashmiri people.
Story: 4/5
Characters: 5/5

[Devanshi Sanghani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this book because I loved tales about Kashmir but not on the cost of India being insulted and it is exactly what this book has portrayed.
Yes it is a rant review and I am utterly disappointed by this book. Author has written book from the point of view of a Kashmiri Muslim and the book seems to thrust that every sadness that is in Kashmir is because of India which is not entirely true.
The book doesn't focus on a single protagonist but revolves around a number of characters and their lives and how they feel about the situation of their home state Kashmir.
I can't entirely give a judgement as to why India should have Kashmir or why Pakistan should or why it should be given a status of a different country however I would gladly say that what India did by cancelling Article 370 was a decision which was required to be taken along time ago.
I don't deny that the Indian army are full of virtues and won't have their own vices but I also won't accept that Kashmir being suffered is solely because of India.
I only thing that kept me reading this book was because I had to review it plus I liked the writing style of the author and also the cover too is beautiful.

[Kabir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always want to read novels written in Kashmir.

This was a good book sympathetic to the freedom struggle against the Indian state. Didn't really work for me as a literary work though.

[Hemang · Rating 1 out of 5]

A rather poor portrayal of kashmir.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and intriguing story by a great author.