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Life in the Clock Tower Valley
Srinagar, summer of 2008: the chinar trees are shedding leaves, outdated matadors are still polluting the streets and checkpoints with men in army fatigue dot the city.
Samar, a college student, is head over heels in love with Rabiya, his batchmate. Secret rendezvous in matadors, campus corridors and at the city’s historical sites help them to get to know each other better. But will their love survive the unending curfews and their families’ opposing political allegiances?
Sheikh Mubarak, Samar’s neighbour, is a famed metal craftsman stuck in a loveless marriage. He is further distanced from his unsympathetic wife, Naziya, when he loses his cherished pregnant cow on a curfewed night. Will their marriage survive the arrival of Rosaline, a tourist from New York?
Sana, Mubarak and Naziya’s five-year-old daughter, is best friends with Pintoji, the neighbourhood simpleton. Both chase their little dreams together with a wide-eyed curiosity, ignoring the adults who frequently indulge in the stone throwing game. But what happens when Pintoji ventures out without a care during a curfew?
Delicate and sensitive, Life in the Clock Tower Valley is an unusual debut novel that travels between Kashmir’s pristine past, its grievous present and always uncertain future, giving us an insider’s view to everyday life and emotions in the conflict-ridden valley.
Samar, a college student, is head over heels in love with Rabiya, his batchmate. Secret rendezvous in matadors, campus corridors and at the city’s historical sites help them to get to know each other better. But will their love survive the unending curfews and their families’ opposing political allegiances?
Sheikh Mubarak, Samar’s neighbour, is a famed metal craftsman stuck in a loveless marriage. He is further distanced from his unsympathetic wife, Naziya, when he loses his cherished pregnant cow on a curfewed night. Will their marriage survive the arrival of Rosaline, a tourist from New York?
Sana, Mubarak and Naziya’s five-year-old daughter, is best friends with Pintoji, the neighbourhood simpleton. Both chase their little dreams together with a wide-eyed curiosity, ignoring the adults who frequently indulge in the stone throwing game. But what happens when Pintoji ventures out without a care during a curfew?
Delicate and sensitive, Life in the Clock Tower Valley is an unusual debut novel that travels between Kashmir’s pristine past, its grievous present and always uncertain future, giving us an insider’s view to everyday life and emotions in the conflict-ridden valley.
176 pages, Paperback
Published March 15, 2021
1 person is currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Shakoor Rather
2 books7 followersShakoor Rather is a Kashmiri journalist based in Delhi. He has written extensively about Kashmir's politics, society, culture and heritage. Having grown up in the Kashmir Valley during its most difficult decades, he writes with rare sensitivity about the different dimensions of the conflict there.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
May 1, 2023
Written in eloquent style, it is a novel of reflective anecdotes on the lives from Srinagar. The characters are intricately drawn and there is a certain realism in the story. There is also a journalistic fervour in the story when Shakoor Rather talks about the conditions of Nallaemaer, for example, or the youth who have come back to invest in local businesses. The societal element is also deeply reflected including the vignettes of a matador ride which covers most of the story. There is much to enjoy in the chapters. It’s a page turner.
March 20, 2021
LIFE IN THE CLOCK TOWER VALLEY
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Life in the Clock Tower Valley , is a debut novel by author Shakoor Rather.
The story is associated to the state of Kashmir, depicting certain beautifully written and narrated characters.
Samar, a university student is in love with Rabiya. They are batchmates and takes the same matador bus to university. Though it was not love at first sight for Rabiya, but soon the few exchange of words and books turns into love.
They belong to the families of political rivals.
Sheikh Mubarak is Samar's neighbour and is in a loveless marriage with his wife Naziya.
Mubarak is metal craftsmen and is infatuated with a tourist Rosaline from New York.
Sana, their daughter has a friend from their neighborhood 'Pintoji' who is an innocent person without much common sense. Pinto ji never cared much about anything and even sets out without any care of the curfews.
Read the book to know
✨ Will Samar and Rabiya's love survive the storm of curfews and opposing families?
✨ Will Sheikh Mubarak and Naziya's marriage survive?
✨ What happens to Pintoji on his venture out in Curfew?
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Life in the Clock Tower Valley , is a debut novel by author Shakoor Rather.
The story is associated to the state of Kashmir, depicting certain beautifully written and narrated characters.
Samar, a university student is in love with Rabiya. They are batchmates and takes the same matador bus to university. Though it was not love at first sight for Rabiya, but soon the few exchange of words and books turns into love.
They belong to the families of political rivals.
Sheikh Mubarak is Samar's neighbour and is in a loveless marriage with his wife Naziya.
Mubarak is metal craftsmen and is infatuated with a tourist Rosaline from New York.
Sana, their daughter has a friend from their neighborhood 'Pintoji' who is an innocent person without much common sense. Pinto ji never cared much about anything and even sets out without any care of the curfews.
Read the book to know
✨ Will Samar and Rabiya's love survive the storm of curfews and opposing families?
✨ Will Sheikh Mubarak and Naziya's marriage survive?
✨ What happens to Pintoji on his venture out in Curfew?
December 21, 2021
There have been shreds of evidence of wiping out an entire population in the name of national security and truce. The ruling, as the name suggests, focuses only on RULING. The results are, haphazard situations in places like North East India and J&K. Name these places and the 2 perspective that rules the mind, first; beauty, and second; mayhem. And why not, it the "rulers" who have disgusted the beauties just to satisfy their egos. Ample books are being written in favour of and against the lives in these 2 places. But of course, this book creates no relationship between these two places.
2008, Srinagar, only the ones who have faced the situation will know how it was like. But selecting a handful of individuals we meet on a daily basis and generating a beautiful story out of the mayhem, is the work of an artist. An underrated artist, who chose to write a very balanced book on his hometown. Shakoor Rather, in his book, Life in the clock tower valley, has presented a very basic narration of lives in Srinagar.
The author himself says that the elderly claims how poetic this clock tower valley used to be in the 1960s/70s. And now, a site that has witnessed many violent acts. The book, at no point, criticizes anyone in particular. It just showcases a scenario that might be heartfelt by anyone who observes the smallest elements around them. The story is an effort to bring positivity to this extremely negative world.
I wouldn't have ever read it or known about it, had I not been a part of My Secret Bookshelf book-club. Reading it was an adventure, a beautiful one. Not discussing the story cuz, the feel matters!
2008, Srinagar, only the ones who have faced the situation will know how it was like. But selecting a handful of individuals we meet on a daily basis and generating a beautiful story out of the mayhem, is the work of an artist. An underrated artist, who chose to write a very balanced book on his hometown. Shakoor Rather, in his book, Life in the clock tower valley, has presented a very basic narration of lives in Srinagar.
The author himself says that the elderly claims how poetic this clock tower valley used to be in the 1960s/70s. And now, a site that has witnessed many violent acts. The book, at no point, criticizes anyone in particular. It just showcases a scenario that might be heartfelt by anyone who observes the smallest elements around them. The story is an effort to bring positivity to this extremely negative world.
I wouldn't have ever read it or known about it, had I not been a part of My Secret Bookshelf book-club. Reading it was an adventure, a beautiful one. Not discussing the story cuz, the feel matters!
December 21, 2021
Some books carry every element of beauty in them. Life in the clock tower valley is one such. Written by @shakoor_rather and published by Speaking Tigers, this book has nature, the beautiful valley, some incomplete stories and above all, a view point that keeps you hinged. The book is small and simple enough to be finished in one or two sitting. I received this beautiful narration on Srinagar in October as book of the month of the book-club by @mysecret.bookshelf, I took my time to begin reading it but once I've started it I finished it in a go.
Ratings : 4/5
Ratings : 4/5
December 21, 2021
Books that make you judge your judgements are one of a kind. The best part of the book is it isn't biased. My first impression and last impression of this book was completely different. This is my first read from the publishing house and I found it quite interesting and engaging. Not gonna reveal the story but I recommend it to all.
Loved the language used.
Rating it 5 ⭐
Loved the language used.
Rating it 5 ⭐
December 21, 2021
Life in the Clock Tower Valley, a debut work of @shakoor_rather is the latest book I'm drooling over. It is emotional and heart wrenching yet captivating. Every character will find their way to your heart and will stay there. Language is quite sarcastic which is positive point
December 20, 2021
Finished reading this sweet story of Samar and Rukaiya. Loving the concept of adolescent and troubled relationships on a disputed valley. @shakoor_rather had penned down this story very low-key and brilliantly.
#shakoorrather #lifeintheclocktowervalley
#shakoorrather #lifeintheclocktowervalley
October 15, 2021
I interviewed the author for NewsClick. Click here.
A Writer Cannot Look Away from the Conflict of a Place
Life in the Clock Tower Valley (Speaking Tiger, 2021), the debut novel of Kashmiri journalist Shakoor Rather, is more than a love story. It is also a portrait of the uncertainty of life in Kashmir. Samar meets Rabiya in a matador taxi and instantly falls in love. In fewer than 200 pages, Rather surrounds the couple with the life sketches of people around them. Rather talks to NewsClick about why writers cannot look away from the conflicts a place or the “haunting grimness on the faces of its people”. Edited excerpts.
What made you write fiction and not a nonfictional account of life in Kashmir?
The fiction genre worked for me because the characters, plots, and settings helped me anchor difficult conversations about Kashmir. The narrative allowed me to work through sensitive and nuanced issues. Fiction provides the creative liberty to depict the world from a different perspective than is possible in non-fiction. Invented scenes constitute the sharpest commentary. They allow you to convey deeper feelings and the psyche of a character, helping the author connect with the reader emotionally and describe reality in a way that literal means cannot do. Effective communication means telling more than the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of events—literary elements like imagery, sarcasm, and symbolism.
How has your journalism informed your other writing?
I was born in a village. Later, my family shifted to a town where I did my schooling before settling in Srinagar, which gave me a multidimensional perspective on Kashmir and its society. I started writing about Kashmir’s social, political, and economic issues before shifting to science, technology, and environment reporting. However, I have never stopped writing about different aspects of life in Kashmir.
What kind of multidimensional perspectives do you think one must acquire to write a story on Kashmir? Are you in a unique position to tell this story?
Kashmir has diverse demography and geography. Kashmiri society is like a meta-text whose diverse territorial issues intricately inform the production and falsification of meanings. As a writer, one cannot look away from the conflict of a place and the haunting grimness on the faces of its people. However, being too focused on the outward could also mean losing touch with the inward. Due to this, we create for ourselves a metaphorical distortion. I think Kashmiris are finding their voice, not only because they believe their stories will be heard but also because their stories have been muffled in other media.
What is the significance of the temporal setting of your novel—a love story set in 2008 Kashmir?
I vividly remember the summer of 2008, also known as the “summer of discontent” in the Valley. It was a period of helplessness. All one could do was to sit inside the house and watch disturbing news flashing on the TV screens all the time. I absorbed myself in books to get through that phase. I realised that those summer memories had been etched in my brain. And later, when I was in Delhi, writing my first book, these were the first ideas that started flowing. That summer became the universe of the book.
Would you share what in particular of that summer had a long-lasting impact on you?
That summer marked a year of protests, curfews, and hartals in all of Jammu and Kashmir. I was in the final year of college, and there was a lot of uncertainty, political and otherwise. Personally, it was frustrating to sit at home and watch events unfold. A situation like that cannot pass without leaving its mark.
Why did you not write a full-on political commentary, even through fiction? Think Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar.
Rather than a direct commentary on the situation in Kashmir, I wanted the readers to go on a journey with me through the lanes and by-lanes of old Srinagar, visit the kandurwans (bakery shops), the public spheres of Kashmir, travel in aged matadors—metaphors for uncertainty in the Valley—and revisit Kashmir’s history by rewinding the clocks of the Ghanta Ghar in Lal Chowk or meandering the banks of Nallah Maar, the canal that snaked through the old city till the early 1970s and was a major transportation route.
Life in the Clock Tower Valley resists the temptation to limit itself to the apparent topicality and the cliched expectations attached with any new work emerging from the Valley. The politics, the changes that regimes brought, the resultant miasma, the loss of ecological balance are certainly a much-discussed part of the novel. The politics of the place, though not openly paraded, looms large, somewhere in the background.
The “lost cow” chapter is quite intriguing. What was the political (or personal) motive to have this chapter in the book?
The “Lost Cow” has both a polemic and figurative meaning in the context of the situation in Kashmir. One incident that spurred this important chapter involved overhearing a dejected passenger in a dilapidated matador lament the loss of his cherished cow during a curfewed night in downtown Srinagar. While symbolism litters the pages of the entire book, the “Lost Cow” is more pertinently symbolic of many individual and collective losses that Kashmiris go through daily. I used it as a metaphor to represent the overall situation in the Valley.
Muhammad Nadeem (Mountain Ink), who has reviewed your book, says it “does not tell us anything a common Kashmiri doesn’t know…”. How would you respond?
It would be naive to think that things common to one person would be familiar to every reader. Many years back, when Basharat Peer’s ‘Curfewed Night’ was published, some people made the same argument: ‘Everybody in Kashmir knows about the events and stories in it.’ However, that book became momentous because it was the first documentation of such happenings in a published work.
Moreover, my book is not non-fiction. I never set out to tell people the facts and figures they would not know. I have looked at the day-to-day life of ordinary Kashmiris and their trials and tribulations. I dare not tell stories to which they could not relate.
Why is Rabiya silent in the book even though Samar is not the narrator? It seems her voice is compromised.
Rabiya is one of the most important characters in the book. I think the amount and type of her voice align with her character and personality. She didn’t necessarily have to be seen frequently throughout the novel to speak her mind. Moreover, I did not want the love story to overshadow the narrative. After all, the book is ‘Life in the Clock Tower Valley’, not ‘Love in the Clock Tower Valley’.
Would you agree your book is too brief for its vast cast of characters?
Some characters may have overpowered others, although that is also how life works. We tend to assign more weight to a few people than others for multiple reasons. I don’t think I wrote to convince the reader of any particular story. The intention was to ignite dialogue, a holistic conversation.
Has the book accomplished this in your view?
Life in the Clock Tower Valley is about Kashmir’s pristine past, grievous present, and uncertain future. Several books on Kashmir have addressed the conflict, but I endeavoured to talk about life amidst this conflict. In almost everybody’s life in the Valley, there is a whole lot of uncertainty, and I wanted that to be the underlying theme in the novel.
The book also talks about mundane issues, which could occur in other settings, but because of the conflict, the environment, and the kind of place Kashmir is, they become really significant there. I also mention environmental, social, and domestic issues that are discussed too little or hardly mentioned.
A Writer Cannot Look Away from the Conflict of a Place
Life in the Clock Tower Valley (Speaking Tiger, 2021), the debut novel of Kashmiri journalist Shakoor Rather, is more than a love story. It is also a portrait of the uncertainty of life in Kashmir. Samar meets Rabiya in a matador taxi and instantly falls in love. In fewer than 200 pages, Rather surrounds the couple with the life sketches of people around them. Rather talks to NewsClick about why writers cannot look away from the conflicts a place or the “haunting grimness on the faces of its people”. Edited excerpts.
What made you write fiction and not a nonfictional account of life in Kashmir?
The fiction genre worked for me because the characters, plots, and settings helped me anchor difficult conversations about Kashmir. The narrative allowed me to work through sensitive and nuanced issues. Fiction provides the creative liberty to depict the world from a different perspective than is possible in non-fiction. Invented scenes constitute the sharpest commentary. They allow you to convey deeper feelings and the psyche of a character, helping the author connect with the reader emotionally and describe reality in a way that literal means cannot do. Effective communication means telling more than the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of events—literary elements like imagery, sarcasm, and symbolism.
How has your journalism informed your other writing?
I was born in a village. Later, my family shifted to a town where I did my schooling before settling in Srinagar, which gave me a multidimensional perspective on Kashmir and its society. I started writing about Kashmir’s social, political, and economic issues before shifting to science, technology, and environment reporting. However, I have never stopped writing about different aspects of life in Kashmir.
What kind of multidimensional perspectives do you think one must acquire to write a story on Kashmir? Are you in a unique position to tell this story?
Kashmir has diverse demography and geography. Kashmiri society is like a meta-text whose diverse territorial issues intricately inform the production and falsification of meanings. As a writer, one cannot look away from the conflict of a place and the haunting grimness on the faces of its people. However, being too focused on the outward could also mean losing touch with the inward. Due to this, we create for ourselves a metaphorical distortion. I think Kashmiris are finding their voice, not only because they believe their stories will be heard but also because their stories have been muffled in other media.
What is the significance of the temporal setting of your novel—a love story set in 2008 Kashmir?
I vividly remember the summer of 2008, also known as the “summer of discontent” in the Valley. It was a period of helplessness. All one could do was to sit inside the house and watch disturbing news flashing on the TV screens all the time. I absorbed myself in books to get through that phase. I realised that those summer memories had been etched in my brain. And later, when I was in Delhi, writing my first book, these were the first ideas that started flowing. That summer became the universe of the book.
Would you share what in particular of that summer had a long-lasting impact on you?
That summer marked a year of protests, curfews, and hartals in all of Jammu and Kashmir. I was in the final year of college, and there was a lot of uncertainty, political and otherwise. Personally, it was frustrating to sit at home and watch events unfold. A situation like that cannot pass without leaving its mark.
Why did you not write a full-on political commentary, even through fiction? Think Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar.
Rather than a direct commentary on the situation in Kashmir, I wanted the readers to go on a journey with me through the lanes and by-lanes of old Srinagar, visit the kandurwans (bakery shops), the public spheres of Kashmir, travel in aged matadors—metaphors for uncertainty in the Valley—and revisit Kashmir’s history by rewinding the clocks of the Ghanta Ghar in Lal Chowk or meandering the banks of Nallah Maar, the canal that snaked through the old city till the early 1970s and was a major transportation route.
Life in the Clock Tower Valley resists the temptation to limit itself to the apparent topicality and the cliched expectations attached with any new work emerging from the Valley. The politics, the changes that regimes brought, the resultant miasma, the loss of ecological balance are certainly a much-discussed part of the novel. The politics of the place, though not openly paraded, looms large, somewhere in the background.
The “lost cow” chapter is quite intriguing. What was the political (or personal) motive to have this chapter in the book?
The “Lost Cow” has both a polemic and figurative meaning in the context of the situation in Kashmir. One incident that spurred this important chapter involved overhearing a dejected passenger in a dilapidated matador lament the loss of his cherished cow during a curfewed night in downtown Srinagar. While symbolism litters the pages of the entire book, the “Lost Cow” is more pertinently symbolic of many individual and collective losses that Kashmiris go through daily. I used it as a metaphor to represent the overall situation in the Valley.
Muhammad Nadeem (Mountain Ink), who has reviewed your book, says it “does not tell us anything a common Kashmiri doesn’t know…”. How would you respond?
It would be naive to think that things common to one person would be familiar to every reader. Many years back, when Basharat Peer’s ‘Curfewed Night’ was published, some people made the same argument: ‘Everybody in Kashmir knows about the events and stories in it.’ However, that book became momentous because it was the first documentation of such happenings in a published work.
Moreover, my book is not non-fiction. I never set out to tell people the facts and figures they would not know. I have looked at the day-to-day life of ordinary Kashmiris and their trials and tribulations. I dare not tell stories to which they could not relate.
Why is Rabiya silent in the book even though Samar is not the narrator? It seems her voice is compromised.
Rabiya is one of the most important characters in the book. I think the amount and type of her voice align with her character and personality. She didn’t necessarily have to be seen frequently throughout the novel to speak her mind. Moreover, I did not want the love story to overshadow the narrative. After all, the book is ‘Life in the Clock Tower Valley’, not ‘Love in the Clock Tower Valley’.
Would you agree your book is too brief for its vast cast of characters?
Some characters may have overpowered others, although that is also how life works. We tend to assign more weight to a few people than others for multiple reasons. I don’t think I wrote to convince the reader of any particular story. The intention was to ignite dialogue, a holistic conversation.
Has the book accomplished this in your view?
Life in the Clock Tower Valley is about Kashmir’s pristine past, grievous present, and uncertain future. Several books on Kashmir have addressed the conflict, but I endeavoured to talk about life amidst this conflict. In almost everybody’s life in the Valley, there is a whole lot of uncertainty, and I wanted that to be the underlying theme in the novel.
The book also talks about mundane issues, which could occur in other settings, but because of the conflict, the environment, and the kind of place Kashmir is, they become really significant there. I also mention environmental, social, and domestic issues that are discussed too little or hardly mentioned.
December 29, 2021
This debut book of PTI journalist Shakoor Rather is a story set in 2008 Kashmir. Samar-Rabiyas love story, Sheikh Mubaraks metal craftsmanship, Sana-Pintojis innocence and how all lives come together in the end. It is lucid and narrated sensitively. However it would be prudent to mention not to expect too much in 175 pages. Nothing new or different insight on Kashmir which a common aware person in India doesn't know. It is well written but fails to really captivate the reader. A decent first attempt by the author light breezy read which can be completed in one sitting.
December 23, 2021
Samar and Rukaiya are the young love birds. A constant diplomatic opinion clash is a threat to their relationship. Pinto ji, a common man whom everyone thinks of a loser has a beautiful relation with a little girl. The heartbreaking-ly sweet story with multiple characters is based in the valley of Srinagar. Writing style is the best part of the book. For some reasons, you can predict the ending as you reach the middle of the book but the dilemma leaves you in a grace thought.
#currentlyreading Life in the Clock Tower Valley by @shakoor_rather
#currentlyreading Life in the Clock Tower Valley by @shakoor_rather
December 21, 2021
Finally done with this short read. Life in the clock tower valley was a great read and I'll recommend it to read at leisure. The author has sarcastically pointed out many struggles of people in J&K.
Pitching is a bit slow but it is not a bore. The narration style is perfect. It gives you a better insight of lives and livelihoods in the disputed land of Srinagar. Every story in the book has a severe ending, fulfilled or not.
Pitching is a bit slow but it is not a bore. The narration style is perfect. It gives you a better insight of lives and livelihoods in the disputed land of Srinagar. Every story in the book has a severe ending, fulfilled or not.
December 2, 2021
The characters mentioned in the book are very much relatable. One who is from rural India and from small towns or cities, will have a Deja vu moment after reading this. Before I tell you anything let me give you a disclaimer, ..... spoilers ahead, so please forgive me. While going through the story of Samar and Rabiya, I am sure you will think .... at least for once..... is it the author's real life story. Four distinct and different stories stitched together makes this book an interesting read.
As the author himself is a political journalist, its very evident that the book must have a few hidden elements of it. Like, when due to the curfew Sheikh Mubarak loses his pregnant cow, or how due to the same Samar is distanced from his amoureuse Rabiya. Because of political differences in Kashmir, the Romeo and the Juliet of this book gets a different ending.
What I liked most is the cliffhanger at the end. Did Pintoji survive the gun shot ?
I don't know.........Do you ?
As the author himself is a political journalist, its very evident that the book must have a few hidden elements of it. Like, when due to the curfew Sheikh Mubarak loses his pregnant cow, or how due to the same Samar is distanced from his amoureuse Rabiya. Because of political differences in Kashmir, the Romeo and the Juliet of this book gets a different ending.
What I liked most is the cliffhanger at the end. Did Pintoji survive the gun shot ?
I don't know.........Do you ?
May 17, 2021
Life in the Clock Tower Valley
The universe of the book is Kashmir in the Summer of 2008, and traverses the lives of several characters as they try to negotiate life in unusual circumstances. Even though the text is not autobiographical, it derives heavily from Rather’s lived experiences as a Kashmiri – be it the description of a scene in a matador, the depiction of a quotidian way of life in a Kashmiri household, or the concerns of love and relationships that young people from the valley are met with.
Anybody who is interesting to take a deeper look into Kashmir must read Life in the Clock Tower Valley.
The universe of the book is Kashmir in the Summer of 2008, and traverses the lives of several characters as they try to negotiate life in unusual circumstances. Even though the text is not autobiographical, it derives heavily from Rather’s lived experiences as a Kashmiri – be it the description of a scene in a matador, the depiction of a quotidian way of life in a Kashmiri household, or the concerns of love and relationships that young people from the valley are met with.
Anybody who is interesting to take a deeper look into Kashmir must read Life in the Clock Tower Valley.
May 5, 2021
Life in the Clock Tower Valley is beautifully written and it is one of the few books that has addressed the conflict in Kashmir with such care. I fell in love with the characters and everything about Kashmir. I found myself lamenting the lost glory of the city along with the author and shared his grief. The authors takes the reader on a intimate drive through the lives in Kashmir. Poignant and delicate, this book was enlightening and a sheer pleasure to read.
May 5, 2021
A different take on Kashmir. Enjoyed the read thoroughly. Didn't want to put it down. A must read novel for everyone. Highly recommended.
October 22, 2021
Love is known to strike in late teens, when one is still in college. It is also known to fall by the wayside in the face of parental or societal objections. Is this true love?
This is a love story set in the backdrop of Kashmir. Samar, a college going student is in love with Rabiya, his batch mate. Their love blossoms on their daily ride to the university in the same Matador. But the two fathers follow two opposing stalwart politicians of the state. Each staunchly opposes the ideology of the other. Their love is fated to wither, with the two protagonists also not having enough courage to brave the opposition.
Two other important characters are a 5-year-old Sana, and an older Pintoji, who is differently abled. They look at the world from their innocent eyes, not understanding the reasons for so much hatred and violence. Their dreams are for a peaceful and loving community.
The book does bring out the beauty of Kashmir in short passages. Though, I was a little disappointed, as I was expecting more detailed description of the beauty of the valley, and the reasons behind the political turmoil or terrorism. I was also wanting the love to succeed, which it did not. The passages about the innocent vision of Sana or Pintoji for a life which does not have differences touch your heart, with a hope for future.
This is a short novel. The story is well written. A decent one time read.
This is a love story set in the backdrop of Kashmir. Samar, a college going student is in love with Rabiya, his batch mate. Their love blossoms on their daily ride to the university in the same Matador. But the two fathers follow two opposing stalwart politicians of the state. Each staunchly opposes the ideology of the other. Their love is fated to wither, with the two protagonists also not having enough courage to brave the opposition.
Two other important characters are a 5-year-old Sana, and an older Pintoji, who is differently abled. They look at the world from their innocent eyes, not understanding the reasons for so much hatred and violence. Their dreams are for a peaceful and loving community.
The book does bring out the beauty of Kashmir in short passages. Though, I was a little disappointed, as I was expecting more detailed description of the beauty of the valley, and the reasons behind the political turmoil or terrorism. I was also wanting the love to succeed, which it did not. The passages about the innocent vision of Sana or Pintoji for a life which does not have differences touch your heart, with a hope for future.
This is a short novel. The story is well written. A decent one time read.
November 23, 2021
The past few weeks have gone by in a blur, I can’t believe we’re almost done with November (and 2021😱) and the only thing that has kept me grounded is letting myself travel through the written word.
Summer of 2008, Srinagar. Amidst curfews, lockdowns and a rapidly changing political situation, Life In The Clock Tower Valley is a very intimate portrayal of everyday lives and people of Kashmir we rarely seem to hear about. Stuck between an aftermath of a bitter past and a future that feels so ambiguous and distant, Shakoor’s account feels more like an insight that centers on the rich culture, traditions and beliefs.
It’s the beauty of small moments that made the book leave a larger impact on me, a narrative born out of the simplicity of bonds, innocence, of hopes, dreams and desires; the worn out matador travels, reading and sharing the neighbourhood news, the morning kahwa and its irresistible fragrance that pulls you in. The heart of the book is it’s people, despite the uncertainty that rules the conflict ridden valley.
Can a young love blossom over curfews and political differences? Can a loveless marriage stand the test of time when the partners feel so estranged from each other? Can an unusual friendship between a five year old and a twenty-three year old survive amidst playful days and weeks under a lockdown, when neither grasp the complexity of it?
Samar, Rabiya, Sheikh Mubarak, Naziya, Sana and Pintoji’s stories are weaved so beautifully into Srinagar’s sensitive present where the only thing constant is a sense of change and yet, we find a strange comfort in them.
Life In The Clock Tower Valley is one of my most memorable reads of the year, for reasons more than one and I highly recommend it❤️
Summer of 2008, Srinagar. Amidst curfews, lockdowns and a rapidly changing political situation, Life In The Clock Tower Valley is a very intimate portrayal of everyday lives and people of Kashmir we rarely seem to hear about. Stuck between an aftermath of a bitter past and a future that feels so ambiguous and distant, Shakoor’s account feels more like an insight that centers on the rich culture, traditions and beliefs.
It’s the beauty of small moments that made the book leave a larger impact on me, a narrative born out of the simplicity of bonds, innocence, of hopes, dreams and desires; the worn out matador travels, reading and sharing the neighbourhood news, the morning kahwa and its irresistible fragrance that pulls you in. The heart of the book is it’s people, despite the uncertainty that rules the conflict ridden valley.
Can a young love blossom over curfews and political differences? Can a loveless marriage stand the test of time when the partners feel so estranged from each other? Can an unusual friendship between a five year old and a twenty-three year old survive amidst playful days and weeks under a lockdown, when neither grasp the complexity of it?
Samar, Rabiya, Sheikh Mubarak, Naziya, Sana and Pintoji’s stories are weaved so beautifully into Srinagar’s sensitive present where the only thing constant is a sense of change and yet, we find a strange comfort in them.
Life In The Clock Tower Valley is one of my most memorable reads of the year, for reasons more than one and I highly recommend it❤️
February 8, 2022
𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘆
Author: Shakoor Rather
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟖, 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫
‘Did you remember to carry our identity card?’ he asked Samar, as he handed him the day's newspaper and a bottle of water, and gently touched his head.
The taxi left the stand amidst a flood of emotions and a flutter of pigeons. Just then a message popped on his new smartphone. It read ‘If something can't be taken to its logical conclusion, it's better to leave it on a beautiful note. By the way, Abbaji has fixed my marriage with a distant relative who works in Jeddah. He will be there here next month for the nikah. Wish you all the best.’
-𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬
𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:This book deals with everyday life and emotions in Kashmir.
Set in 2008, the story follows different characters, all different but relatable.
Samar and Rabiya are madly in love.
Whereas, Sheikh Mubarak and Naziya are in a loveless marriage.
Sheikh and Naziya's 5-year-old daughter Sana and her best friend Pintoji try to chase their dreams ignoring the reality of the valley.
Will there be any happy ending?
I am utterly touched by this book. It took me to the Kashmiri people's issues through humor and symbolism.
I was transported to Kashmir's beauty and wounded present and uncertain upcoming.
Author: Shakoor Rather
𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟖, 𝐒𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐫
‘Did you remember to carry our identity card?’ he asked Samar, as he handed him the day's newspaper and a bottle of water, and gently touched his head.
The taxi left the stand amidst a flood of emotions and a flutter of pigeons. Just then a message popped on his new smartphone. It read ‘If something can't be taken to its logical conclusion, it's better to leave it on a beautiful note. By the way, Abbaji has fixed my marriage with a distant relative who works in Jeddah. He will be there here next month for the nikah. Wish you all the best.’
-𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐬
𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:This book deals with everyday life and emotions in Kashmir.
Set in 2008, the story follows different characters, all different but relatable.
Samar and Rabiya are madly in love.
Whereas, Sheikh Mubarak and Naziya are in a loveless marriage.
Sheikh and Naziya's 5-year-old daughter Sana and her best friend Pintoji try to chase their dreams ignoring the reality of the valley.
Will there be any happy ending?
I am utterly touched by this book. It took me to the Kashmiri people's issues through humor and symbolism.
I was transported to Kashmir's beauty and wounded present and uncertain upcoming.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 19, 2021
Read this beautiful book. Here is my views on the book and its story.
Book : Life in the clock tower valley
Author : @shakoor_rather
Publisher : Speaking Tigers
For : @mysecret.bookshelf book-club
Story : Depiction of common day-to-day life of people in Srinagar. A love story, a special bond, some business troops, and the political tantrums. The book feels very close to oneself as it has multiple elements which makes it worth a read. One of the best underrated books I've read till date.
Pitch : Very soft amd close to one's heart and experience.
Storyline : Flows smoothly and steadily
Reading time : Single sitting
My rating : 4.5/5
#mysecretbookshelf #teammysecretbookshelf #speakingtigers #shakoorrather #lifeintheclocktowervalley
Book : Life in the clock tower valley
Author : @shakoor_rather
Publisher : Speaking Tigers
For : @mysecret.bookshelf book-club
Story : Depiction of common day-to-day life of people in Srinagar. A love story, a special bond, some business troops, and the political tantrums. The book feels very close to oneself as it has multiple elements which makes it worth a read. One of the best underrated books I've read till date.
Pitch : Very soft amd close to one's heart and experience.
Storyline : Flows smoothly and steadily
Reading time : Single sitting
My rating : 4.5/5
#mysecretbookshelf #teammysecretbookshelf #speakingtigers #shakoorrather #lifeintheclocktowervalley
December 19, 2021
Completed this book titled "Life in the Clock Tower Valley" by shakoor in a matter of few days and I loved the concept.
The story has many threads and all the characters are interlinked to one another. Samar who is head over heels in love with Rukaiya and leaves no point to ensure his presence around her is a perfect example of how we saw Dhanush in Ranjhana, just a little more subtle. Rest every characters are simple yet powerful. Storyline is sweet and beautiful. Language is lucid and free flowing.
Highly recommended for all who are a sucker for mushy moments and romantic escapades.
My score ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
The story has many threads and all the characters are interlinked to one another. Samar who is head over heels in love with Rukaiya and leaves no point to ensure his presence around her is a perfect example of how we saw Dhanush in Ranjhana, just a little more subtle. Rest every characters are simple yet powerful. Storyline is sweet and beautiful. Language is lucid and free flowing.
Highly recommended for all who are a sucker for mushy moments and romantic escapades.
My score ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
December 25, 2021
Written by @shakoor_rather a journalist by profession. Given his work profile at PTI, it was evident how unbiased his views were throughout the book. I'm in awe of un-biased writing nowadays. I think this was the first ever book I saw that holds no sided opinion on the matter of J&K.
It's a fictional tale based in the beautiful valley of Srinagar. Apart from the daily mayhem, people there live simply. This is a story of people there who are way far from dirty politics and filthy leadership. Based in 2008, it touches every aspect of the outcry that took place without poising negativity.
It's a fictional tale based in the beautiful valley of Srinagar. Apart from the daily mayhem, people there live simply. This is a story of people there who are way far from dirty politics and filthy leadership. Based in 2008, it touches every aspect of the outcry that took place without poising negativity.
December 20, 2021
I finished reading the book Life in the Clock Tower Valley recently and have some mixed feelings for it.
Positive :
Simple narration.
No exaggeration.
Characters can be related to people around you.
Simply plotted.
Negative :
At point, it gives one sided view on Indian defence forces, which could have been avoided.
My view :
Language is a boon.
Plot is engaging.
Best for dilemmatic readers.
Recommended : HIGHLY!
Ratings : 3/5⭐
Positive :
Simple narration.
No exaggeration.
Characters can be related to people around you.
Simply plotted.
Negative :
At point, it gives one sided view on Indian defence forces, which could have been avoided.
My view :
Language is a boon.
Plot is engaging.
Best for dilemmatic readers.
Recommended : HIGHLY!
Ratings : 3/5⭐
December 21, 2021
Read this book with other members of @mysecret.bookshelf book-club. Life in the clock tower valley is a sweet and short book writing by @shakoor_rather. His debut work is captivating. Looking for more reads from him. The story is not way too huge to be elaborated in a few words. If you love the process of storytelling, go pick it. It tells you a lot many things about the valley of Srinagar.
Rating it 3.5/5
Rating it 3.5/5
December 25, 2021
Because, even disputed lands have common people like us, this book on Srinagar deals only in day-to-day lifestyle of common people living there. Stories of Samar, Rukaiya, Pinto ji, has every element of a simpler living on a disputed land.
Life in the Clock Tower Valley is a beautiful book by @shakoor_rather
After reading it, I wonder if it's really a fictional tale or... ?
Since the author is a resident of The Clock Tower Valley, it's pretty clear why the story seems so generic.
Life in the Clock Tower Valley is a beautiful book by @shakoor_rather
After reading it, I wonder if it's really a fictional tale or... ?
Since the author is a resident of The Clock Tower Valley, it's pretty clear why the story seems so generic.
April 8, 2023
About to complete this masterpiece. On the way. Despite I can say that one of the finest novel ever read in my life till date. So gorgeously portraits the contemporary Life style, Socio political situation of J&K in the form of fictional love story between Samar and Rabiya before us. I will finish my review after completing rest of chapters.
December 19, 2021
The story of Kashmir in 2008, Life in the Clock Tower Valley explores various themes around a few people - love, animosity, friendship, fear, loneliness. Every character - from Samar to Sana - has a important role to play in the book. What I loved about the book is the writing was quite simple and elegant, with beautiful characterization and a really serene storyline. The beauty that is Kashmir is written in a majestic picturesque manner, and a new face to Kashmir is seen from every character's perspective. I enjoyed sensitive stories that were quite emotional in expression and what amazed me is the author's free writing style.
I wished the story had two or three more chapters, for I felt the end was quite perplexing. Rest, the book painted the Kashmiri nature and people in brighter hues that made this book a perfect addition to my book collection!! Definitely, definitely recommended for enjoying Kashmiri stories wrapped in myriad emotions and themes!
I wished the story had two or three more chapters, for I felt the end was quite perplexing. Rest, the book painted the Kashmiri nature and people in brighter hues that made this book a perfect addition to my book collection!! Definitely, definitely recommended for enjoying Kashmiri stories wrapped in myriad emotions and themes!
September 8, 2023
My fascination with Kashmir prompted me to pick up this book by Mr. Shakoor Rather
Titled ' Life in the Clock Tower Valley', this short read effectively depicts the essence of lives of people in the Kashmir valley.
It isn't just another book about Kashmir, it is a book about Kashmir, by Kashmir.
With acute observation and experience, the authentic Kashmiri voice of the writer has successfully captured the nuances of the everyday lives of the people of the clock tower valley and provides an insider view to the readers.
In light of the recent pandemic situation, the restrictions and curfews have somewhat helped me better understand the predicaments that have been plaguing the people of Kashmir for years. Reading this book during this time has provided me with an insight into the lives and livelihoods of the local people afflicted with the daunting uncertainties of this region.
It is a fantastic book and I think everyone should read it.
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