ICE CANDY MAN

Before I get about giving my views about this book,a little bit about how I got about this book in the first place.An old professor of english literature told me about this book way back in 2003.I took his advice and the book from him to read.However after skimming through the first few pages,I gave up on it.Thinking back,I can only say that maybe I was too young to appreciate it then.A few years later I got to know that the movie '1947 EARTH' was based on the book.However I did not get to watch the movie despite the fact that it was screened several times on television.I went out and got a copy of the book for myself.It lay on my shelf unread for an indeterminate length of time until I finally decided to read it at the beginning of this year and....I m so glad I did .

Bapsi Sidhwa tells us a compelling story.It is set in Lahore in the 1940's.The story is told by a 7 year old girl Lenny .The backdrop is pre-partitioned India and the horror of partition is so vividly described that I could relate it to the holocaust. Lenny though young,sees a lot and the harsh reality of the world is brought before her eyes at a very early age.Emotions of love, trust and mutual respect between two human beings have very intricately been woven by Lenny and Ayah, her maid servant, the central characters of the novel.All the characters are so rich and the story so intricately woven.The book is a bit pro-pakistan but I dont hold that against Sidhwa.It is a story about people and how they react to the unexpected events unfolding.Besides Lenny and Ayah are a lot of her admirers,men from different religions who vie for Ayahs affections and amongst them is the Ice-candy man.How the events unfold and the trusted turn into untrustworthy is what the book is all about.It talks of betrayal and defeat and ultimately redemption.

However I did not once want to put down the book,once I began reading it and put it down only after finishing it a 2 am last night.That should say a lot,I think ;)