तमस
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. But in the midst of the ensuing carnage, despite the darkness of the times, rare moments of unexpected friendship and love also surface.
Winner of the Sahitya Aakdemi Award, Sahni's iconic novel about the Partition of India tells the tale of an unfolding riot from different vantage points. In Daisy Rockwell's definitive translation, this magnificent work comes vividly to life
Authors : Bhisham ShahniOriginal Publisher : Rajkamal PrakashanPublisher: Penguin Random House
Translators:
“Kites shall hover, kites and vultures shall continue to hover for long like the receding tide of the sea, the tide of the riots had subsided, leaving behind all kinds of litter and junk and garbage.”
The above two quotes from the book summarise the before and after of the book. The writer sketches the darkness of partition through ‘Tamas’. It is not one story but multiple intertwined stories creating a sequence of events building the partition saga.
“Tamas” by Bhisham Sahni is a text dealing with India’s partition, yet it is not exactly about partition. ‘Tamas’ is an accurate, fearless, and gripping account of the divided and the uncertain times we Indians have gone through. He won the ‘Sahitya Academi’ for Tamas in 1975 and it was subsequently adapted into a National Award Winning film by Govind Nihalani. The novel is considered an outstanding contribution to Hindi Literature. It’s said ‘Tamas is a prophetic warning against the use of religion as a weapon to gain and perpetuate political power’ by Govind Nihalini.