In a world washed to and fro by glassy floods of representations, I choose to gaze at experience through the mesh of paragraphs.
-Spufford
Any book lover will understand when I say that a good book is like a gateway waiting to be explored. Whenever reality gets too overwhelming, the library offers an escape, its towering, protective bookshelves sheltering the reader lost in the smudged, worn-out world of printed letters. We can make new friends, discover new worlds and trust the able hands of the author to guide us home. Although they do have the annoying habit of killing off characters and crushing our hearts along the way.
Nose in books, I prefer to escape into fantasies, comedies or futuristic science fictions – books which allow me to find a world better than the one I leave behind. I have never seen the point in reading sad, dystopian novels which leave us more depressed than we started with. Once I found my friend had collapsed at the hands of a John Green book and I have never come within a feet of any of his infamous emotional weapons since.
So making the choice to read a book about one of the most atrocious evils in the society was definitely one I was coerced into. My friend threatened to nullify our friendship if I didn't read it.
That's how I came upon the book Faces in the Water and I absolutely do not regret it.
Ranjit Lal takes the sordid topic of female infanticide and weaves it into a light-hearted tale of youthful innocence, mischief and joy. The fanatic preference for boy child over girl child and the lengths families go to appease this want of society is the central theme of the story. Contrary to my expectations, despite dealing with an incredibly sensitive issue, it was neither too gloomy nor too heavy.
The story revolves around the wealthy and renowned Diwanchand family, whose honour stems from the fact that they've never had a girl child. The Diwanchands take pride in their long line of male heirs and are renowned for never having the misfortune of a daughter being born into the family. As long as anyone can remember, there have only been sons. Not only that, but the family members are also known for never falling sick. They claim that they owe this 'blessing' to the magical water they get from a well at their ancestral farmhouse at the base of the Aravalli Mountains.
One day, fifteen year old Gurmeet of the Diwanchan family has to spend his summer at the ancestral farmhouse while his house in Delhi undergoes renovation. Though he is vocal of his displeasure to spend his vacation at a farm instead of the city, he's secretly thrilled to take a look at the magic well that keeps his family healthy and full of boys.
His mother warns him to stay away from the well so obviously like all rebellious teenagers, the first thing he does is look for the well. What he discovers instead is a terrible, unsettling secret that his family has carefully guarded and kept buried for generations beneath masks of decency and modernity. What does one do when they walk upon an unthinkable truth about their family? For when Gurmi peeps into the well, instead of his reflection, he is met with unfamiliar faces in the water – faces of three pretty young girls floating, smiling up at him. To his shock, the ghost girls as he initially calls them introduce themselves as his sisters, who had been drowned as soon as they were born. Thus begins the fun, beautiful journey of Gurmi and his sisters whom only he can see.
Initially shocked and angered, he urges them to avenge the injustice done to them but soon learns that revenge is futile. He instead strives to end the atrocities against female children in his family in future. In the light of today's HeForShe campaigns, reading the characterization of an adolescent boy rebelling against female infanticide and championing the cause of gender equality was truly heartwarming. The twist at the end of the story gives Gurmi the chance to do the right thing, but only if he is brave enough to take it.
Instead of dwelling on the grim reality of the crimes that had taken place, the author shows the girls having a magical computer technology that allows them and Gurmi to experience a parallel world where his sisters were never killed. As he gets to experience the cyber-magic world of what could-have-been, the unlived alter-world adventures with his sisters like playing cricket and going on camping trips highlight the difference between growing up a single, spoiled child in a household that privileged only its male born and growing up with three sisters in the same house. Gradually, Gurmi's family realises the happiness missing from their lives, happiness that only daughters and sisters can bring.
The story also explores the beautiful bond between brothers and sisters that is unique and different from all other relationships.
Ranjit Lal has succeeded in presenting this controversial topic in a light way so that young adult readers or even children can find it enjoyable without being traumatised by its brutal realities. The ghastly crimes against female infants is a serious issue, but often unspoken, especially when privileged families like the Diwanchands participate in the practice. The newborn girls are so often abandoned they have earned the name 'dustbin babies.'
The only thing I found troubling was the resolution. When we read about children being drowned in wells, we are naturally indignant. We expect some sort of punishment for the perpetrators. Such a story can not possibly be a happily-ever-after for everyone. Though his family sincerely repents, those lives lost to appease their hunger for male children can't be brought back.
Overall, the book is a must read. It is a roller coaster ride of emotions, which will make you laugh and cry at the same time. While the fate of the girls in the well will move you beyond words, I promise you that the book will also leave you with hope swelling in your heart.
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