The Blurb
In the autumn of 1939, seventeen-year-old Sammi has been married for only twenty-one days when her husband, Hari Singh, an officer in the British Indian Army, is summoned to fight in WWII. The heartbroken couple bid each other goodbye. Sammi awaits Hari Singh’s return in her village, Aliwala, a syncretic hamlet with Sufi bearings in the hinterland of Punjab. It is 1946 but there is no word from Hari Singh. He has been gone for nearly seven years. Caught between her two feuding brothers, Jasjit and Kirpal, the now twenty-three-year-old Sammi clings to her husband’s memory.
India is on the brink of gaining independence from the British. Jasjit worries that independence will damage age-old communal bonds and separate him from his closest friend, Zulfi Sheikh. Meanwhile Kirpal plans to solidify his social standing by forcing Sammi to marry his boyhood friend, the influential Bachan Singh. Will Sammi be forced into a second marriage or will she find the courage to step out of the narrow alleys of Aliwala in search of a new life?
Inspired by true events, The Song of Distant Bulbuls is set in a singularly turbulent time in world history. The novel poses epic questions: is happiness an elusive goal? Is love the ultimate aim of human life or a means to something else? What does it take to realize who one truly loves and how much?
My Review
The Song of Distant Bulbuls by Simrita DhirMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The author’s words bring to life pre independent, rural Punjab, and they color it with the hues of nostalgia. My parents and sisters spent every summer and winter in my maternal grandparents’ home in their haveli in the village. I can vouch for every description and every dialogue resonating with me.
Each character is crafted with care – Sammi, her brothers [Jasjit and Kirpal], her parents, and the stoic and loyal Jeeto Bhua – the reader is exposed to their strengths, their flaws, their fears and ambitions through their actions and their inner thoughts. The author effortlessly makes it seem like you know them or someone like them.
And what of the army officer, Hari Singh, Sammi’s husband? Though he is physically missing from the story action the entire time thanks to the 2nd World War, he is kept front and center of the reader’s attention. This happens because of Sammi’s devotion to her husband of 21-days, who went to war seven years ago, and shows no signs of returning. Or even of being alive.
But Hari Singh is never far away – invading Sammi’s thoughts and her dreams – through which medium we learn everything about him. And through the seven letters he wrote to Sammi, which she reads over and over. The letters are a lovely device to further the plot. Steadfast, Sammi refuses to accept that he is never coming back even though the war ended some time ago. And she is steadfast in refusing to buckle to familial pressure to marry again. The Bulbuls are her never-ending source of inspiration, but also of despair when she doesn’t hear them singing. The title, in that sense, is beautifully apt.
The four main characters all have a voice – Sammi, her brothers, and Hari Singh [through his letters] – with sections devoted to them through the four seasons. I felt this made for powerful story telling, but occasionally, I found it a bit repetitive.
Overall, this is a delightful, earthy tale of true love – of family, of friendships, and of patriarchy and politics – against the backdrop of war, death, and the impending partition of the country. Enjoyed it without a doubt.
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About the Author
Simrita Dhir grew up in Punjab, India, in a family of distinguished academics. A national-level debater, writer and actor in school and college, she is a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Standard Awardee. A recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal for Academic Excellence in Post Graduate Studies, she received her PhD on Toni Morrison from the Department of English and Cultural Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. An avid reader, some of her favourites are Prem Chand, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, RK Narayan, Ismat Chughtai and Nirmal Verma alongside other literary stalwarts of Indian and World Literature.
Simrita has contributed to leading newspapers including The Times of India, The Indian Express and The Tribune. She lives with her husband and their son in San Diego, California where she studied Advanced Rhetoric at the Department of Rhetoric and Writing Studies, San Diego State University. She teaches Literature, Writing and Critical thinking to undergraduate students across San Diego County. The Rainbow Acres is her debut novel.
Don’t forget to get yourself a copy of The Song of Distant Bulbuls
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