Last month we experimented with Give Aways when Author K P Singh of Raisina Series offered to give away two copies of his latest book to the readers of AnuReviews. It was well accepted by you and that gave me the courage to start this as a series, for those authors and publishers who may want to reach you through this channel.
I plan to announce Give Away on 30th of every month (28th for Feb). Authors and publishers willing to participate can send their offers before that date. The results will be announced on 15th of next month and give aways sent to the readers before the next give away.
This month the Give Away is sponsored by publishers Random House India, and they are giving away a copy of Rahul Pandita’s Our Moon has Blood Clots. I loved this book and have been recommending this to everyone.
About the Book:
RAHUL PANDITA
OUR MOON HAS BLOOD CLOTS
The Exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits
Published by Random House India on 18th January 2013, Rs 499 hardback
“Ours was a family of Kashmiri Pandits, and we had fled from Srinagar, in the Kashmir Valley, earlier that year. We had been forced to leave the land where our ancestors had lived for thousands of years. Most of us now sought refuge in the plains of Jammu, because of its proximity to home. I had just turned fourteen, and that June, I lived with my family in a small, damp room in a cheap hotel…. And I don’t think we realized then that we would never have a home again.”
Rahul Pandita was fourteen years old in 1990 when he was forced to leave his home in Srinagar along with his family, who were Kashmiri Pandits: the Hindu minority within a Muslim majority Kashmir that was becoming increasingly agitated with the cries of ‘Azadi’ from India.
The heartbreaking story of Kashmir has so far been told through the prism of the brutality of the Indian state, and the pro-independence demands of separatists. But there is another part of the story that has remained unrecorded and buried.
Our Moon Has Blood Clots is the unspoken chapter in the story of Kashmir, in which it was purged of the Kashmiri Pandit community in a violent ethnic cleansing backed by Islamist militants. Hundreds of people were tortured and killed, and about 3,50,000 Kashmiri Pandits were forced to leave their homes and spend the rest of their lives in exile in their own country.
Rahul Pandita has written a deeply personal, powerful and unforgettable story of history, home and loss.
About the Author:
Rahul Pandita is the author of the bestselling Hello, Bastar: The Untold Story of India’s Maoist Movement, and the co-author of the critically acclaimed The Absent State. He has extensively reported from war zones, including Iraq and Sri Lanka, and Kashmir and Bastar in India. In 2010, he received the International Red Cross Award for conflict reporting.
Rahul was born in the Kashmir valley. At the age of fourteen, in 1990, his family was forced into exile, like thousands of others, by Islamic extremists.
He lives in a Delhi suburb, and works as associate editor with Open magazine.
Criteria:
We will be interviewing Rahul Pandita about this book and here is your chance to ask him a question. Best question will get a copy of the book, courtesy Random House India.
You can leave your question(s) in the comments below this post or below the book review.
All the best !
PS: Do share your feedback as always.
Update: Winner of this Give Away is Rubina Ramesh.
Rubina, please e-mail your address to me at anureviews@gmail.com
Surely a book worth reading ; courageous in that it reveals, thought provoking in that we wonder at our politics ; chilling in that it could be coming to a neighbourhood near you.
Question for the author – If you have a wish that would make all well and you can reclaim your home, what would you wish for ?
I have heard quite a bit about this book from friends… A friend said he was having sleepless nights just reading it, another said she wasnt able to eat well until a few days after she finished this book.
If just reading this was so painful, I can only imagine what the author, his family and the pundits in reality went through.
I dont know if I should say I am excited to read this book or I am as excited as I am apprehensive to face the pundit’s reality in my face.
:-X
writers who can’t write to save their life or anything worthwhile they have become best-seller authors. their facebook pages have likes running into ten of thousands. how do you maintain your sanity by taking the short cut and sticking to your love; honest and meaningful writing.
Question for the author- As we all know that it is such a personal remark on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits ,so how difficult it was for you to write the hidden story of the riots with such precision..??
My Question for the author: I have often observed that discussions on exodus of Kashmir Pandits tend to be strongly coloured by right-wing hindutva voices who tend to hijack this issue for their antiquated vision of Hindu State. How did you confront the opportunistic framing of this serious issue? Did it anger you?
Can he ever find it in his heart to forgive the perpetrators of the violence & would he want to go back to Kashmir considering the situation is unlikely to change in the near future?
my question is::
certainly the issue of the exile of kashmiri pandit is very close to the author due to his first hand exp.But why he choose to write the book now, why the wait???
Question for the author: Writing this book must have been an soul searching, heart wrenching experience. Could you make peace with the turmoils it must have caused in your life and in the lives of your loved ones,after writing this novel?
Congratulations Rubina on being the winner of this month’s Give Away. Please e-mail your address to me at anureviews@gmail.com
Thanks Anuradha, I would love to know his answer too. We readers can only imagine the turmoils of such a situation. He is the one who has penned his personal feelings. Kudos to him. And thanks for hosting this.
Rubina, I am still waiting for your phone number.
My Question to Rahul Will be: Why is it that the story of the Kashmiri Pandits has been forgotten/not covered by the mainstream media or a related question will be- Why is it that Kashmir Pandits have not come together and demanded a say in the Kashmiri politics?
Question – Writing a book that is so close to the heart and an integral part of you, how hard was it to pen down and revisit the memories from the past and the present, and did you ever ‘break down’ writing and thinking about it? Thanks
I do not see any comment by your winner
Look at 3rd comment above your comment.