Aftab, a young Kashmiri boy, leads a double life. By day, he is a normal, bubbly teenager whose prime concerns are cricket, family and friends. The night holds the secrets of the life of a child who sneaks away to confabulate with Akram and his fledgling group of tearaway terrorists. Akram—so handsome, so exciting. But what Aftab doesn’t realise—so dangerous. Aftab is in complete awe of Akram and is willing to follow him to the end of the earth. And Akram is more than willing to send him there...
No Guns At My Son’s Funeral is a story set in the Kashmir
Valley written by Paro Anand & published by Roli Books. The author is
recognized internationally & locally, she headed the National Centre for Children’s
Literature, The National Book Trust, India, the apex body for children’s
literature in India. As a part of her work here, she set up libraries and
Readers’ Clubs in rural India and conducted training programs on the use of
literature. She has been a resource person with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation,
working with children impacted by terrorist, separatist violence in Kashmir.
The story revolves around a young Kashmiri boy Aftab & his
journey from an innocent little teenager to that of a wannabe militant. It
portrays quite beautifully the contrast of the dual lives that many children
& young adults in the valley live. Akram
& Feroze are the two young inexperienced militants who decided to make a
mark of their own & started recruiting young teenagers in order to train
them. Aftab revered Akram as a mentor & would do anything for him without
realizing that he might be just a pawn. What will happen when the Indian Army
acknowledges the existence of this small group & makes it their mission to
catch them? Get this book here to get a real experience about the situation in
the valley,
Kashmir is a perfect example to study how ‘truth’ can be
multiple forms. The author’s work with children from the valley has helped her
to intricately write about the characters in this book. Both Aftab & Akram are
believable characters & I am sure their stories definitely speak about the
stories of so many young adults from Kashmir. Their personalities, thought
process, the need of approval from a mentor & other such small details is
what makes this story different & not a caricature. The language &
title are to the point while I believe the cover could’ve been better. A book
not to be missed.
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