BOOK REVIEW ' FAUJI HEART' BY NEERJA KAUL KALIA

 

                                                                                

 

BOOK REVIEW 

 

FAUJI HEART ( A Collection of Short Stories ) by Neerja Kalia 

Publishers … Notion Press ..Available on Amazon India 

Price Rs 350/=

 

 I had only known Padam-shri Pran Kishore Kaul’s wife Shanta Ji as the other talented person in his immediate family. In September 2022, I joined a function held in New Delhi for the release of Pran Ji’s book, “ Zoon Of The Saffron Field” and came to know about his highly talented daughter, Neerja Kaul Kalia. Neerja Kalia is a writer, painter and social worker who remains busy with her work without caring for any publicity or what is known as media attention. She keeps a low profile yet her pen and brush create something comparable to some established names in the world of art and literature.

 

A student of Presentation Convent, Srinagar, Neerja has learnt much from her father Padam-shri Pran Kishore Kaul. This learning appears to have shaped her skills in writing and the deft handling of the brush on canvas. In her studio, one finds beautiful paintings, most of them presenting hills, trees cottages, brooks and changing colours with the change in seasons. One can discern vivid  nostalgia for Kashmir in her art although it may not appear explicit. These paintings were also exhibited by her in ‘My Home My Land ‘,a solo art exhibition featuring oil paintings held at The Art Gallery, Epicenter, Gurugram sometime in February 2015. Neerja Kalia has selected a beautiful label titled ‘Under The Cherry Tree’ for her painting work.

Married to Col NK Kalia, Neerja is a writer, painter, film producer, teacher, and social worker apart from discharging other familial roles. Having moved to various locations with her husband, Neerja Kalia’s sensitivity and observations are sharp and diverse respectively. She has enough to tell through her stories about‘ Fauji’ life in barracks and borders. A life full of adventure, risk, courage and camaraderie yet full of values that the ‘Civilian Life’ upholds. The stories make the reader travel to the length and breadth of the country. One moves through sandy dunes, snowfields, high altitudes of Ladakh, hills of Arunachal, hot and dusty towns, snow-clad meadows and majestic Chinars of Kashmir. The reader also moves through barracks, messes, military hospitals, drill parades and other army-related locations and activities. One experiences a spectrum of situations and locations through these stories built around Jawans and officers drawn from every corner of the country. The book,’ Fauji Heart ‘ has a wonderful introductory dedication that is quite impressive and moving. Apart from dedicating the book to Naren, her friend, soul-mate and husband, Neerja dedicates the book to the soldiers of the Indian army and their families. In her dedication, she writes this:-

 

“ In the unique Fauji world, one learned to enjoy the moment. One also learned to live with the ever-present threat of imminent separation either by death or by transfer orders. If life is tough for the soldiers, it is still tougher for their families .”

 

The book has 164 pages for 14 short stories that are set in a period between the early 70s to early 90s of the last century. This is a period when neither mobile nor internet connectivity had arrived. Although all the 14 lively and riveting stories are based on army life, the skill of the author has brought human values to the surface and made these stories universal. Out of the fourteen stories, three stories namely, Sabziwalli, SOP 303 and Nessa have been penned by Col N K Kalia fondly known as Naren. Sabziwalli was published in the Illustrated Weekly of India.

The book begins with a beautiful story,’ Angel Without Wings ‘. It revolves around a Pakistani army Havaldar Rajab Ali Khan and the Pakistani misadventure on high hills along the border . Rajab Ali Khan is posted at a high altitude post when his bunker is suddenly attacked by Indian Army Jawans led by a daring young officer. Amidst gunfire and hostility, the humanism of high standard is displayed by the young Indian Army officer atop the high hills even when his toes are frostbitten. Rajab Ali Khan is obliged to pray for the welfare of this daring Indian army officer whose conduct not only saved his life but also made it possible for him to spend Eid with his family.

Sabziwalli is again a wonderful story that displays sharp observations and the riveting style of Col Naren Kalia. The story reveals how truthful and simple human behaviour beats everything even the security issues believed to have been created by a charming Sabziwali who keeps visiting the battalion lines of an army unit. She grabs the attention and mind space of one and all. The Jawans, the adjutant and finally the CO are unable to deal with a simple and poor Sabziwali who sells vegetables and moves with confidence inside the battalion lines. The story has been presented in a style through which every reader immediately identifies with the characters and their emotions.

 

Sara is another moving story penned by Neerja Kalia that removes the curtain from the ugly face of Jihadi elements engaged in senseless killings and destruction. An eight-year-old girl is strapped with bombs and pushed as Fidayeen towards an Indian army unit by these terrorists. Her parents are tied with ropes and the innocent girl is asked to press a button and play the fatal game which she can’t comprehend. Sara, a happy-go little girl is unaware of the real mission that she has agreed to undertake to get her parents released from the grip of the terrorists who were invited to her house by Raheem Chacha, a family acquaintance.  The girl is saved by Capt Vinod Rawat and Sepoy Dilawar of the unit where she is sent to create death and destruction. The strapped bombs are removed carefully from her body .Unfortunately, Sara’s parents are shot dead by the terrorists and Sara is orphaned. She is  adopted by Capt Vinod Rawat and his wife. They are her new Ammi and Baba. The Pakistan  trained  terrorists also indulged in this type of heartless  activity in the Kashmir Valley.

 

Another moving story that I need to comment on is titled, ‘Dawn To Dusk ‘. In this story, Biren and Anjali serve as officers in the Indian army. Biren is with the artillery regiment of Ladakh Scouts and posted at Kargil while Anjali is a doctor posted at Military Hospital, Srinagar. This was a love marriage; a first-sight attraction that took place in Gulmarg where Biren had been undergoing high altitude warfare course while Anjali, who studied medicine at Medical College, Srinagar, had come for a skiing course. They got happily married and life seemed like a fairytale. They set up their residence in Srinagar. From Kargil, Biren would come for a day or two after two months to be with his wife and newborn daughter Megha. They had planned to join together for holidays in December for which both had been sanctioned leave. Biren was supposed to join his family for a long vacation on 3rd December 1971 when suddenly war breaks out with Pakistan. Due to war, Anjali is called back for her duties. Injured and critically wounded soldiers airlifted from Kargil and all other fronts, keep arriving in helicopters at Military Hospital, Badami Bagh, Srinagar. Anjali keeps looking for Biren. There is no news about his whereabouts. After hectic enquiries, Anjali comes to know that Biren was last seen in combat but went missing thereafter. Even when two sides swapped lists of Prisoners of War (POWs), Anjali could not trace her Biren. The author ends the story with a moving note, “ The 1971 war is but a foggy remembrance in the collective memory of the nation. But Anjali is still living from dawn to dusk waiting with firm faith and hope for the dawn, whose dusk will bring her warrior home. Who knows how many Anjalis are waiting for their warriors even today?” The story goes in tandem with the theme of Sahir Ludhianavi’s powerful poem Parchhaiyaan( Shadows) which presents stories of human tragedies created by war.

 

There are many other riveting stories like SOP 303, Balle Balle. Nessa, Fauji Shan Baan, Dancing Dunes and Eastern Tunes, When Death Came Calling, Who Started 1971 War, The Lawn Mower, Olive Green Heart and ‘Then He Jumped off The Cliff ’. These stories have a perfect balance of  characters, plots, settings, and tensions that puts the creativity of Neerja Kalia and Col Kalia at a high pedestal.

I  would sincerely like people to read these riveting stories drawn from barracks and battalions . These are stories of professionalism . valour, integrity  and commitment to the nation. These  are stories of service , sacrifice and human empathy. 

The book concludes with a beautiful poem titled, ‘Moonlight Is Shining On My Grave’. I conclude this review with some lines from this poem:-

 

“ In the folds of her arm, she held tightly

All my ribbons and medals,

Wrapped in the tricolour flag that

 they had used to cover my casket.

Her one hand touched the swelling belly

 that she bore with so much grace,

Her eyes melted but for an instant,

Then her chin went up and her tears rolled back,

After all. it is not every maiden’s honour to be 

a soldier’s bride and a martyr’s widow.

Moonlight is shining on my grave

 while I sit under this cherry tree,

Waiting to see her one last time,

When she comes in the morning with a marble plate,

Engraved on it in gold will be my name .”

 

 

( Avtar Mota )

 

 CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.