THE GYPSY TRAIL:
Travels and Travails of an Army Wife
By Lily Swarn
Publishers :Authorspress, New Delhi
ISBN: 978-93-88008-68-6
Pp :180
Price : Rs 395/-
This is a third book by Lily Swarn after ‘A Trellis Of Ecstasy’ (2017) a poetry collection , & ‘ Lilies Of The Valley’(2018)-a book of Essays . Both these books have been well taken by the readers .Lily Swarn is the winner of the Reuel International Prize for Poetry 2016 . She now is a globally recognized poet ,some of her poems having been translated into Spanish , Brazilian and some other languages. The list of her achievements first and foremost as a poet in English is pretty long .She loves to dabble in Urdu Shayari and Punjabi poetry too.
The title ‘The Gypsy Trail…..’ is partly taken from Kipling’s poem of the same name and the other part - Travel and Travails of an Army Wife- is self explanatory as to what the reader is to find in the book .
The book starts on a sombre note with a dedication to Gobind Shahbaaz Singh , the 23 year old son of the writer who fell victim to some ailment that proved fatal .He is fondly remembered as a promising child growing up into a talented young man who wants to make it big in the field chosen by him but unfortunately destiny has ordained otherwise. He is easily identifiable with the youngman Jujhar the name that appears later in the narrative. Incidentally, Jujhar was also one of the martyred sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Guru .
The Prelude , sums up the person an Army wife is or supposed to be, with the unwritten code that requires to be adhered to and followed .
The Chapter named ‘Teenage Crush’ comes up with the background to the protagonist becoming an army wife and the narrative is presented in an interesting manner and style , where she spells out her well reasoned preference for an Army Officer over a Bureaucrat and a Banker . She gets engaged to her dream man, an Army Officer . A hurried marriage ceremony follows as the groom is not allowed sufficient days of leave.
After this the journey as an Army wife starts , the first stop being Changu at Sikkim , where the young Captain happens to be posted. The description of the place ,its natural scenic beauty its flora and fauna , and people especially the cherubic children holds one transfixed and is simply amazing .
Not long after the next place is Dalhousie a small town in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. Here the protagonist takes up a teaching assignment as a young College lecturer and fondly describes her colleagues. Here also we have a beautiful description of the place . Here the protagonist experiences mother hood for the first time as she delivers a baby on 8th May, 1984. .
The reader travels along with the protagonist through places some well known and others less known.
The chapters are in chronological order and the places to which she travels and sets home are Deolali, Alwar, Bagrakot , Pune, Kathua, Dinjan,Meerut, Allahabad, Lucknow , Hyderabad, Ferozepur and Chandigarh. Some other chapters find place in between for general discussion in a befitting manner in her inimitable style.
Endowed with a rare observant eye and with a penchant for detail , the writer does not seem to be in a hurry and discusses the minutest details about the various places, highlighting the historical facts wherever necessary . She discusses the local people, culture, cuisine, specialities , landmarks, and the famous personalities , be it the writers, poets, musicians , artistes and the other notable persons belonging to the particular place et al .The mention of film songs, lines from Punjabi songs , Urdu and Sufi poetry makes the text richer and absorbing . The facts about army life are discussed with compassion, precision and truthfulness . They add to the knowledge of the Civilian outsiders like me and the insiders cannot but agree with what she has put forth . We have the elderly advice given to the protagonist by Sewa Singh, the man Friday attached with her husband to serve hot chapatis to the hubby, taken straight from the griddle ( Tawa), an addtition to my vocabulary that Tawa is called griddle in English. Another buddy finds mention in discussing a faux pas caused when he asks for advice while brewing up coffee for the guests in a voice audible as well to the others in the female group that has come to see the new bride. The reference to Shaktiman, Threee Ton , One Ton- all Army vehicles - helps refresh my memory of times spent in a border area . There is an Ode to Mango, the mention of all too famous Lukhnawi Nazakat & Tehzeeb , to which I may add Lehja as well, makes the narrative perfect.There is also mention of emotion filled Investiture ceremony taking place in the Central Command. Hyderabadi biryani and Charminar , inter alia , are discussed in detail . Allahabad too is discussed in detail and with attachment mentioning all the remarkable personalities belonging to the place ,including the former Prime Minister Nehru, Chandra Shekhar , V.P. Singh , Indira Gandhi, poets like Nirala, Harivanshrai Bachchan , Firaq Gorakhpuri and many many others . The chapter concludes with the line – All cities have chatacter. This one has soul as well .
Ferozepur is known for Husseiniwala border . Husseiniwala is also a place where the martyrs Bhagat Singh , Rajguru & Sukhdev were cremated . The place has a memorial raised in their honour also.All these facts find mention.
Chandigarh is the last stop of the journey and ominous too. It being the home city of the protagonist as well as the writer herself is discussed in detail . The chapter ‘That day’ recounts the tragic loss of the 23 year son Jujhar , which moves one no end. This also accounts for a tragic end to the protagonist’s life as an Army wife
I could go on and on but that would amount to a parallel narrative being written , which can not be the intention of a book review .
All credit to the writer for his wonderful narrative , which takes the reader along through out . The comments registered by a poet, a scholar and two highly decorated senior Army Officers say a lot.
A prize possession to go to again and again for valuable references apart from the extremely absorbing narrative !
Travels and Travails of an Army Wife
By Lily Swarn
Publishers :Authorspress, New Delhi
ISBN: 978-93-88008-68-6
Pp :180
Price : Rs 395/-
This is a third book by Lily Swarn after ‘A Trellis Of Ecstasy’ (2017) a poetry collection , & ‘ Lilies Of The Valley’(2018)-a book of Essays . Both these books have been well taken by the readers .Lily Swarn is the winner of the Reuel International Prize for Poetry 2016 . She now is a globally recognized poet ,some of her poems having been translated into Spanish , Brazilian and some other languages. The list of her achievements first and foremost as a poet in English is pretty long .She loves to dabble in Urdu Shayari and Punjabi poetry too.
The title ‘The Gypsy Trail…..’ is partly taken from Kipling’s poem of the same name and the other part - Travel and Travails of an Army Wife- is self explanatory as to what the reader is to find in the book .
The book starts on a sombre note with a dedication to Gobind Shahbaaz Singh , the 23 year old son of the writer who fell victim to some ailment that proved fatal .He is fondly remembered as a promising child growing up into a talented young man who wants to make it big in the field chosen by him but unfortunately destiny has ordained otherwise. He is easily identifiable with the youngman Jujhar the name that appears later in the narrative. Incidentally, Jujhar was also one of the martyred sons of Guru Gobind Singh, the Tenth Guru .
The Prelude , sums up the person an Army wife is or supposed to be, with the unwritten code that requires to be adhered to and followed .
The Chapter named ‘Teenage Crush’ comes up with the background to the protagonist becoming an army wife and the narrative is presented in an interesting manner and style , where she spells out her well reasoned preference for an Army Officer over a Bureaucrat and a Banker . She gets engaged to her dream man, an Army Officer . A hurried marriage ceremony follows as the groom is not allowed sufficient days of leave.
After this the journey as an Army wife starts , the first stop being Changu at Sikkim , where the young Captain happens to be posted. The description of the place ,its natural scenic beauty its flora and fauna , and people especially the cherubic children holds one transfixed and is simply amazing .
Not long after the next place is Dalhousie a small town in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. Here the protagonist takes up a teaching assignment as a young College lecturer and fondly describes her colleagues. Here also we have a beautiful description of the place . Here the protagonist experiences mother hood for the first time as she delivers a baby on 8th May, 1984. .
The reader travels along with the protagonist through places some well known and others less known.
The chapters are in chronological order and the places to which she travels and sets home are Deolali, Alwar, Bagrakot , Pune, Kathua, Dinjan,Meerut, Allahabad, Lucknow , Hyderabad, Ferozepur and Chandigarh. Some other chapters find place in between for general discussion in a befitting manner in her inimitable style.
Endowed with a rare observant eye and with a penchant for detail , the writer does not seem to be in a hurry and discusses the minutest details about the various places, highlighting the historical facts wherever necessary . She discusses the local people, culture, cuisine, specialities , landmarks, and the famous personalities , be it the writers, poets, musicians , artistes and the other notable persons belonging to the particular place et al .The mention of film songs, lines from Punjabi songs , Urdu and Sufi poetry makes the text richer and absorbing . The facts about army life are discussed with compassion, precision and truthfulness . They add to the knowledge of the Civilian outsiders like me and the insiders cannot but agree with what she has put forth . We have the elderly advice given to the protagonist by Sewa Singh, the man Friday attached with her husband to serve hot chapatis to the hubby, taken straight from the griddle ( Tawa), an addtition to my vocabulary that Tawa is called griddle in English. Another buddy finds mention in discussing a faux pas caused when he asks for advice while brewing up coffee for the guests in a voice audible as well to the others in the female group that has come to see the new bride. The reference to Shaktiman, Threee Ton , One Ton- all Army vehicles - helps refresh my memory of times spent in a border area . There is an Ode to Mango, the mention of all too famous Lukhnawi Nazakat & Tehzeeb , to which I may add Lehja as well, makes the narrative perfect.There is also mention of emotion filled Investiture ceremony taking place in the Central Command. Hyderabadi biryani and Charminar , inter alia , are discussed in detail . Allahabad too is discussed in detail and with attachment mentioning all the remarkable personalities belonging to the place ,including the former Prime Minister Nehru, Chandra Shekhar , V.P. Singh , Indira Gandhi, poets like Nirala, Harivanshrai Bachchan , Firaq Gorakhpuri and many many others . The chapter concludes with the line – All cities have chatacter. This one has soul as well .
Ferozepur is known for Husseiniwala border . Husseiniwala is also a place where the martyrs Bhagat Singh , Rajguru & Sukhdev were cremated . The place has a memorial raised in their honour also.All these facts find mention.
Chandigarh is the last stop of the journey and ominous too. It being the home city of the protagonist as well as the writer herself is discussed in detail . The chapter ‘That day’ recounts the tragic loss of the 23 year son Jujhar , which moves one no end. This also accounts for a tragic end to the protagonist’s life as an Army wife
I could go on and on but that would amount to a parallel narrative being written , which can not be the intention of a book review .
All credit to the writer for his wonderful narrative , which takes the reader along through out . The comments registered by a poet, a scholar and two highly decorated senior Army Officers say a lot.
A prize possession to go to again and again for valuable references apart from the extremely absorbing narrative !
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