Review by cjzvanitajs -- Border Post 99 by Kedar Patankar
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- Latest Review: "Border Post 99" by Kedar Patankar
Review by cjzvanitajs -- Border Post 99 by Kedar Patankar
[Following is a volunteer review of "Border Post 99" by Kedar Patankar.]
4 out of 4 stars
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Border Post 99: No Man’s Land is set on the India-Pakistan border where two soldiers find themselves on opposite sides of a desolate section of the border while tense peace negotiations between their governments takes place miles away.
Lieutenant Mangesh Sharma is a young Indian soldier right out of the military academy who is disappointed that his first mission is guarding Post 99. The unofficial post is far away from his family and right away, Sharma feels lonely and homesick. He’s also feeling unconfident about what is expected of him from his commanding officer. If Sharma is discovered at the post by Pakistani soldiers, the discovery could lead to war. But Major Jadhav assures Sharma that if he keeps quiet, nothing can go wrong.
Weeks pass and Sharma has neither seen another person, nor detected any activity at the border. He passes the time completing his patrols, keeping his campsite tidy and thinking about his family and his hometown. On a pleasant day, Sharma decides to rest at a nearby stream when he suddenly sees another man. It’s a Pakistani soldier.
Like Sharma, Captain Abid Khan had also left behind his wife and family to guard the no man’s land at the India-Pakistan border. Khan convinced himself it would a quiet mission, but the Indian soldier has now ruined that idea. Although he's much older than Sharma, Khan feels anxious about what to do. He tries to calm himself by remembering the advice his grandfather gave him about going with the flow.
Full of fear and suspicion of the enemy, the soldiers take turns trying to get the better of the other. Sharma and Khan’s need for revenge grows so fiercely, their traps and tricks come dangerously close to causing serious harm. Not until a connection going back to before the partition, when India and Pakistan were one country, do the soldiers realize they have a kinship that transcends war and hatred.
Border Post 99: No Man's Land is a poignant story about the devastating impact war can have generations later, as Sharma and Khan confront each with the weight of the past on their shoulders, yet keenly feeling the urgency of the present day. With some knowledge of India-Pakistan history, I wasn't surprised how the soldiers reacted with such hostility. But it still made me sad to think there was no room for even a calm discussion or agreement to stay away from each other, the result of being at war for decades.
Readers really get to know the soldiers intimately, their sense of duty to their countries, their family histories, and how each soldier just wants to be at home with their loved ones. It felt rewarding after all the pain they inflicted to see these characters finally seeing each other as men with much in common. However, I was disappointed with the ending because I felt it was ambiguous what happened to one of the soldiers. After such a great ending, I wish the author had not left readers guessing this soldier's fate.
Overall, Border Post 99: No Man's Land was an enjoyable book and I give it 4 out of 4 Stars.
******
Border Post 99
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4 out of 4 stars
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Border Post 99: No Man’s Land is set on the India-Pakistan border where two soldiers find themselves on opposite sides of a desolate section of the border while tense peace negotiations between their governments takes place miles away.
Lieutenant Mangesh Sharma is a young Indian soldier right out of the military academy who is disappointed that his first mission is guarding Post 99. The unofficial post is far away from his family and right away, Sharma feels lonely and homesick. He’s also feeling unconfident about what is expected of him from his commanding officer. If Sharma is discovered at the post by Pakistani soldiers, the discovery could lead to war. But Major Jadhav assures Sharma that if he keeps quiet, nothing can go wrong.
Weeks pass and Sharma has neither seen another person, nor detected any activity at the border. He passes the time completing his patrols, keeping his campsite tidy and thinking about his family and his hometown. On a pleasant day, Sharma decides to rest at a nearby stream when he suddenly sees another man. It’s a Pakistani soldier.
Like Sharma, Captain Abid Khan had also left behind his wife and family to guard the no man’s land at the India-Pakistan border. Khan convinced himself it would a quiet mission, but the Indian soldier has now ruined that idea. Although he's much older than Sharma, Khan feels anxious about what to do. He tries to calm himself by remembering the advice his grandfather gave him about going with the flow.
Full of fear and suspicion of the enemy, the soldiers take turns trying to get the better of the other. Sharma and Khan’s need for revenge grows so fiercely, their traps and tricks come dangerously close to causing serious harm. Not until a connection going back to before the partition, when India and Pakistan were one country, do the soldiers realize they have a kinship that transcends war and hatred.
Border Post 99: No Man's Land is a poignant story about the devastating impact war can have generations later, as Sharma and Khan confront each with the weight of the past on their shoulders, yet keenly feeling the urgency of the present day. With some knowledge of India-Pakistan history, I wasn't surprised how the soldiers reacted with such hostility. But it still made me sad to think there was no room for even a calm discussion or agreement to stay away from each other, the result of being at war for decades.
Readers really get to know the soldiers intimately, their sense of duty to their countries, their family histories, and how each soldier just wants to be at home with their loved ones. It felt rewarding after all the pain they inflicted to see these characters finally seeing each other as men with much in common. However, I was disappointed with the ending because I felt it was ambiguous what happened to one of the soldiers. After such a great ending, I wish the author had not left readers guessing this soldier's fate.
Overall, Border Post 99: No Man's Land was an enjoyable book and I give it 4 out of 4 Stars.
******
Border Post 99
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: "Border Post 99" by Kedar Patankar
