The Ice-Candy Man (Bapsi Sidhwa)

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐🟍

This has been on my TBR for years and i finally got down to it in time with India's 78th Independence Day. And it has coincided with the gruesome rape and murder of a resident doctor in Kolkata. So basically for 78 years, the story has remained the same - men cannot accept women who make their own choices and will do anything to keep them as trophies in their life or else destroy them.

Set in 1940s in Lahore, now in Pakistan, the Ice Candy Man is a simple story of people who live and work in the same town and hang out together while working or after work. It is told to us through the eyes of a little girl, who recounts her life from when she was about 4 to 12 years of age. In her orbit are the Ice Candy Man who sells Ice lollies to kids in summer and trapped birds to rich women in the winter. The Masseur who does magic with his fingers and is a stress reliever for many. The Ayah who is the nanny for Lenny and her brother. The Cook, the Pathan, the Gardner and many other.  Many of these are admirers of Ayah and like bees attracted to honey, they flock around her whether she is in the park with her wards or sitting in the back yard after work. Then there are Lenny's brother and cousin. Her Father, Mother, Godmother and an assortment of other adults around her who leave her perplexed. Then there are faraway people Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah etc who exert such an influence on her life that one day she suddenly becomes a Pakistani - Just Like That. And then she understands that what you are - Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, Christian - is the most important thing in life. Nothing else seems to matter in the end. 

The backdrop to the story are the events around India and Pakistan's Independence and the bloody aftermath when friends turn on each other and forget all their oaths and promises. And in between all the madness, a small child's gullibility and trust and how she learns that though everybody tells you to be truthful, there are times that this very thing is the biggest mistake you can make. The narration is slow and the story ambles along, much like a horse cart on Lahore's dusty streets would in 1947 would have. Jenny's observations are astute and stark - Sidhwa makes sure that her protagonist tells us what things are in the harshest but simplest manner in eveything. 

The movie adaptation of the book did not quite stick to this story line. It deviated in many places, and in my opinion, changed the plot quite a bit. It really didnt do justice to the book, as is with most adaptations. Its a good day to read the book.