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Two and a Half Rivers
A depressed doctor and a young Dalit couple caught in the vortex of an armed insurgency.
A recently divorced doctor looking for seclusion relocates to an isolated house on a riverbank. The following summer dead bodies start turning up in the river, on the roads, in trains and on city crossings. Everybody calls it the ‘Punjab Problem’, as if it were a stubborn crossword puzzle. The doctor is kidnapped and nearly killed, once by terrorists for helping the police and once by police for helping the terrorists.
A young Dalit girl, with the dream of becoming a dancer in her eyes, and her soulmate Bheem leave their caste-ridden existence behind and relocate to Bombay. They have learnt the hard way that the preaching of oneness by their religion does not work in the real world.
Drawing its title from the historicity of the Partition which has left in its wake only two and a half rivers to India from the land of the five rivers, Anirudh Kala’s novel offers a poignant commentary on the turbulent connection between religion and terrorism.
A recently divorced doctor looking for seclusion relocates to an isolated house on a riverbank. The following summer dead bodies start turning up in the river, on the roads, in trains and on city crossings. Everybody calls it the ‘Punjab Problem’, as if it were a stubborn crossword puzzle. The doctor is kidnapped and nearly killed, once by terrorists for helping the police and once by police for helping the terrorists.
A young Dalit girl, with the dream of becoming a dancer in her eyes, and her soulmate Bheem leave their caste-ridden existence behind and relocate to Bombay. They have learnt the hard way that the preaching of oneness by their religion does not work in the real world.
Drawing its title from the historicity of the Partition which has left in its wake only two and a half rivers to India from the land of the five rivers, Anirudh Kala’s novel offers a poignant commentary on the turbulent connection between religion and terrorism.
236 pages, Paperback
Published October 5, 2021
58 people want to read
About the author
Anirudh Kala
9 books3 followersAnirudh Kala is a psychiatrist by profession and Clinical Director of Mind Plus, Ludhiana in Punjab. The latter is an intermediate stay facility for treatment of psychiatric illnesses and substance use disorders. He was a member of the expert group tasked by Government of India with writing Mental Health Policy for the country, which was released in 2014.
He also writes fiction and has published several short stories. An anthology of interconnected stories, Unsafe Asylum: Stories of Partition and Madness was published in 2018 by Speaking Tiger books. Two and a Half Rivers is a novel based on a young Dalit couple caught in the vortex of terrorism in Punjab and is his second work of fiction. A non-fiction book Most of What You Know About Addiction is Not True with focus on addictions in Punjab will be released early next year.
He has been instrumental in forging cross border links between two sides of Punjab and is founder of “Indo-Pak Punjab Psychiatric Society.”
He is fond of Urdu poetry, travelling and semi-classical music.
He also writes fiction and has published several short stories. An anthology of interconnected stories, Unsafe Asylum: Stories of Partition and Madness was published in 2018 by Speaking Tiger books. Two and a Half Rivers is a novel based on a young Dalit couple caught in the vortex of terrorism in Punjab and is his second work of fiction. A non-fiction book Most of What You Know About Addiction is Not True with focus on addictions in Punjab will be released early next year.
He has been instrumental in forging cross border links between two sides of Punjab and is founder of “Indo-Pak Punjab Psychiatric Society.”
He is fond of Urdu poetry, travelling and semi-classical music.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 15, 2021
How do we understand a land and its people? How do we look at its history, at a phase of turbulence which once ravaged the lives of its people? At the social structures rarely talked about? And how do we make sense of it? Can the perception be whole if only selective truths are voiced?
Anirudh Kala's 'Two and a Half Rivers' is a heart wrenching fictionalised tale of the lives of people of Punjab during the troubled years of militancy and counter insurgency. It also focuses upon the issue of caste oppression in the state and bring to you the ordeals of those living in 'Vehras' at the outskirts of its villages.
Reading this book has been a very personal experience for me. It has helped me understand the history of the place I feel more closer to now than I ever did. For past couple of years I have been thinking more about my roots, my birthplace and trying to understand my anxieties around the idea of home.
I was born in Punjab and at the time of Operation Bluestar, we lived in Amritsar. Though I have very faint memories of a few instances, what saddens me is the pain that people have gone through and their sufferings. Kala says that more than five thousand young people have not come home, and never will. Even to think about that tears me apart.
I hope this book reaches more readers.
My review has appeared here:
https://borderlessjournal.com/2021/12...
Anirudh Kala's 'Two and a Half Rivers' is a heart wrenching fictionalised tale of the lives of people of Punjab during the troubled years of militancy and counter insurgency. It also focuses upon the issue of caste oppression in the state and bring to you the ordeals of those living in 'Vehras' at the outskirts of its villages.
Reading this book has been a very personal experience for me. It has helped me understand the history of the place I feel more closer to now than I ever did. For past couple of years I have been thinking more about my roots, my birthplace and trying to understand my anxieties around the idea of home.
I was born in Punjab and at the time of Operation Bluestar, we lived in Amritsar. Though I have very faint memories of a few instances, what saddens me is the pain that people have gone through and their sufferings. Kala says that more than five thousand young people have not come home, and never will. Even to think about that tears me apart.
I hope this book reaches more readers.
My review has appeared here:
https://borderlessjournal.com/2021/12...
December 12, 2021
Indian Historical fiction about Punjab Insurgency from the lens of caste.
Storytelling was not perfect, but the story was so good, that it can be overlooked. I wish more people got a chance publish stories from the pov of the Indian countryside.
Storytelling was not perfect, but the story was so good, that it can be overlooked. I wish more people got a chance publish stories from the pov of the Indian countryside.
May 23, 2022
An amazing read and it is so tough to categorise the book into a particular segment. Should I call this Dark Historical Comedy because there is Dark Comedy in there. Or, should I call it Historical Commentary because there is a lot of commentary. I'm not sure but one this is for sure, it's definitely not a pure Fictional History. It's a mix of all the things that I just mentioned.
The book has three main characters and of that one of them is there because he needs to be there to narrate the story. The other two has a good story line that connects the dot. However, the entire book feels like a commentary on the short and quick history of Punjab since the partition. Almost all events are covered in a nut shell and there are too many things going on to wrap my head around.
The beauty of all this is that in the end, you get a lot of information and it's for the information that I gave my 4 stars. The author does a poor job of narrating the story. The singular character, a Doctor, is there because without him, there is no way of telling some of the story parts. The couple, has a decent plot line but even that at times kind of thins out.
While this book has been hailed as some sort of a champion on casteism in Punjab, to be honest, it wasn't much. Thank god it wasn't because whatever I read was too much for me to handle. I'm deeply disgusted of how the casteism plays out and I'm not surprised. This is India and it's been going on for centuries and only recently all these things have come out. Just imagine the stories that we haven't heard yet.
This book is a reminder of what happened and what's going to happen if we don't learn from history. From what I'm seeing so far, a part of the country is learning while the other part choses to remain ignorant. That's sad.
The book has three main characters and of that one of them is there because he needs to be there to narrate the story. The other two has a good story line that connects the dot. However, the entire book feels like a commentary on the short and quick history of Punjab since the partition. Almost all events are covered in a nut shell and there are too many things going on to wrap my head around.
The beauty of all this is that in the end, you get a lot of information and it's for the information that I gave my 4 stars. The author does a poor job of narrating the story. The singular character, a Doctor, is there because without him, there is no way of telling some of the story parts. The couple, has a decent plot line but even that at times kind of thins out.
While this book has been hailed as some sort of a champion on casteism in Punjab, to be honest, it wasn't much. Thank god it wasn't because whatever I read was too much for me to handle. I'm deeply disgusted of how the casteism plays out and I'm not surprised. This is India and it's been going on for centuries and only recently all these things have come out. Just imagine the stories that we haven't heard yet.
This book is a reminder of what happened and what's going to happen if we don't learn from history. From what I'm seeing so far, a part of the country is learning while the other part choses to remain ignorant. That's sad.
May 2, 2022
I bought a copy of this book because it is about Punjab, and it has been penned by a psychiatrist, the latter fact promising a unique view-point. The title is intriguing and the font size comfortable.
The author has an engaging style and the story is told from different perspectives. More than the story [which is compelling, no doubt about it] it was the style that I enjoyed. The sly digs at bumbling cops and wicked politicians, the subtle sarcasm, the humorous, self-deprecating protagonist - it all made this book enjoyable for me. But the lighthearted approach is a ruse - it doesn't make this story lighthearted - it is anything but. Tragedy follows tragedy, as it did when Punjab was actually struggling with militancy - the author doesn't sugarcoat any of it, just as he does not pretend that caste issues aren't a thing in Punjab.
The author's satirical style ensured that I really enjoyed this book even though sad things happen in it.
The author has an engaging style and the story is told from different perspectives. More than the story [which is compelling, no doubt about it] it was the style that I enjoyed. The sly digs at bumbling cops and wicked politicians, the subtle sarcasm, the humorous, self-deprecating protagonist - it all made this book enjoyable for me. But the lighthearted approach is a ruse - it doesn't make this story lighthearted - it is anything but. Tragedy follows tragedy, as it did when Punjab was actually struggling with militancy - the author doesn't sugarcoat any of it, just as he does not pretend that caste issues aren't a thing in Punjab.
The author's satirical style ensured that I really enjoyed this book even though sad things happen in it.
January 26, 2022
Casteism is an entrenched problem in Punjab, but barely ever acknowledged or discussed. So I was looking forward to getting a perspective. It was disappointing to find the standard script around poverty and oppression with the Punjab terrorism narrative for decoration. Any one of the songs on chamar pride carry more nuance, authenticity and feeling than this entire book. Best avoided.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews