One of the novels I read recently was "I shall not hear the Nightingale" - the second novel found in his omnibus collection, "The Collected Novels", by Khushwant Singh. I found it to contain some insight integrated into the novel, on how the English (especially when they were rulers and administrators ) think and act, the actions that they respect in the locals that they associate with, and the gap between their thoughts and what especially the Brown Sahibs think matter in their superiors opinion. Without causing "spoilers" for any prospective readers, the fact that it was Sabhrai, the non-English speaking wife of Buta Singh who made the most impact on the Taylors, sufficient enough to make a most important decision favouring the Singhs', goes on to show this point. Besides, the author shows how the rest of the family are lost in their own worlds - self indulgent, serving their egos, while the uneducated Sabhrai is possibly the only genuine person. It is a pointer to show how the genuineness of a person makes an impression that cannot be denied. In effect these qualities of a class, who directly interacted with the English are shown in such a context, I felt that this show casing this must have been one of the prime objectives of the author. For example, look at this observation that the author has made, to portray how much Buta Singh's son Sher, and his daughter-in-law Champak live in their own worlds:
"Sher Singh and his wife were too full of themselves to listen to each other's tales. They both abandoned the attempt."
Bhuta Singh, the efficient magistrate who had won the respect of Taylor the deputy commissioner, is so absorbed in his own importance. The author makes another observation which would've been a somewhat prominent one, for him to make it and stress it. It is tantamount to insisting on the importance of genuineness.
"Presiding over the two extremes was his father with his conveniently dual morality:'keep up with both sides.' For him loyalties were not as important as the ability to get away with the impression of having them."
The other aspects that I enjoyed in this book, are the observations from the author about the way of life of an Indian. He makes two such observations, both related to rain.
The first is about the Monsoon (which figured prominently in another book from another Indian, an authoress, Anita Desai, which I just completed - so the Monsoon is pivotal to the Indian.)
"To know India and her people, one has to know the monsoon. it is not enough to read about it in books,or see it on the cinema screen, or read it in books, or see it on cinema screen, or hear someone talk about it. It has to be a personal experience because nothing short of living through it can fully convey all it means to a people for whom it is not only the source of life, but also their most exciting impact with nature.What the four seasons of the year mean to the European, the one season of the monsoon means to the Indian."
The fundamental difference with which the European and the Indian looks at Rain is the second observation.
"An Indian’s attitude to clouds and rain remains fundamentally different from that of the Europeans. To the one, clouds are symbols of hope; to the other, those of despair. The Indian scans the heavens and if cumulus clouds blot out the sun his heart fills with joy. The European looks up and if there is no silver lining edging the clouds his depression deepens. The Indian talks of someone he respects and looks up to as a great shadow, like the one cast by the clouds when they cover the sun. The European, on the other hand, looks on a shadow as something evil[…]. An Indian, when the rains come, runs out into the streets shouting with joy and lets himself be soaked to the skin. "
If one enjoys the way that Khushwant Singh writes, not probably a novel in its' most theoretical presentation as it were, but in his own winding way - narrated through an identified third person, once in a while taking off to present a cultural insight - then one is likely to enjoy this book. To me personally, although it didn't supersede "Train to Pakistan", it is indeed an important work of fiction that can proudly carry the author's credentials.
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