Tamas

In A City In Undivided Punjab, Nathu, A Tanner, Is Bribed To Kill A Pig. When The Animal’s Carcass Is Discovered On The Steps Of The Local Mosque The Next Morning, Simmering Tensions Explode Into An Orgy Of Bloodlust. As The Carnage Ensues, Ordinary Lives Are Dramatically Upturned: The Women Of A Sikh Village Resolve To Make The Ultimate Sacrifice When Faced With Imminent Death At The Hands Of An Advancing Mob; An Elderly Couple Undertakes A Perilous Journey When The One Place They Call Home Is No Longer Safe For Them; And Wracked With Guilt, Nathu Must Come To Terms With His Unwitting Role In Instigating The Violence. Yet, Despite The Darkness Of The Times, Rare Moments Of Unexpected Friendship And Love Also Surface. A Timeless Classic About The Partition Of India, Tamas Is Also A Chilling Reminder Of The Consequences Of Religious Intolerance And Communal Prejudice. Daisy Rockwell’s Fresh And Definitive Translation Expertly Renders The Power And Passion Of This Iconic And Award-winning Novel For A New Generation Of Readers. 'Tamas drove the point home that ordinary people want to live in peace' —The Guardian Set in a small-town frontier province in 1947, just before Partition, Tamas tells the story of a sweeper named Nathu who is bribed and deceived by a local Muslim politician to kill a pig, ostensibly for a veterinarian. The following morning, the carcass is discovered on the steps of the mosque and the town, already tension-ridden, erupts. Enraged Muslims massacre scores of Hindus and Sikhs, who, in turn, kill every Muslim they can find. Finally, the area's British administrators call out the army to prevent further violence. The killings stop but nothing can erase the awful memories from the minds of the survivors, nor will the various communities ever trust one another again. The events described in Tamas are based on true accounts of the riots of 1947 that Sahni was a witness to in Rawalpindi, and this new and sensitive translation by the author himself resurrects chilling memories of... Set in a small-town frontier province in 1947, just before Partition, Tamas tells the story of a sweeper named Nathu who is bribed and deceived by a local Muslim politician to kill a pig, ostensibly for a veterinarian. The following morning, the carcass is discovered on the steps of the mosque and the town, already tension-ridden, erupts. Enraged Muslims massacre scores of Hindus and Sikhs, who, in turn, kill every Muslim they can find. Finally, the area's British administrators call out the army to prevent further violence. The killings stop but nothing can erase the awful memories from the minds of the survivors, nor will the various communities ever trust one another again. The events described in Tamas are based on true accounts of the riots of 1947 that Sahni was a witness to in Rawalpindi, and this new and sensitive translation by the author himself resurrects chilling memories of the consequences of communalism which are of immense relevance even today. Novel based on the accounts of riots of the partition of India in 1947