4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
About 84 pages, the book, Border Post 99, by Kedar Patankar, tells a story about Lieutenant Mangesh Sharma, a twenty-five-year old, commissioned officer, who just got out of the Indian Military Academy. Without any battle experience, Sharma was assigned to Border 99, a post on no-man's-land at the India-Pakistan border, to guard the Indian front line in order to watch for the enemy trespassing. In a like manner, Captain Abid Khan was sent by the Pakistani Army to observe their own front line. Unaware of the presence of one another, both soldiers stayed at peace at their stations until one fateful day that they sighted each other at a riverbank. Complying with orders from their superiors, which state that they should not attack each other because of peace talks going on, Sharma and Khan were agitated and scared.
After a week, things took a different turn when Sharma became sick and then staggered to the river to get some water. Reaching the bank of the river, he fell to the ground and was unconscious. Khan approached him and out of annoyance, destroyed Sharma's thermos and filled his revolver with earthworms. After a while, Sharma woke up and was mad at the Pakistani. He therefore launched "Project Revenge." Both soldiers then took turns in setting traps and humiliating each other for fun and satisfaction until eventually they discovered that they had the same roots, their families grew up together. Unluckily, just at the time they were about to reconcile, Sharma's commanding officer and some soldiers showed up to take the offensive against the Pakistanis from key points on the borderland. Captain Khan was the first target. Sharma became dazed. How would he save his enemy that was also like a relative? Would his last-laid slingshot trap save Khan's life?
Ironically, in the narrative, in spite of the ongoing peace process, and the suspension of hostilities by the two countries, their soldiers were waging a personal vendetta against one another at no-man's-land while they were supposed to be at their military posts just watching. Examining the theme of the non-necessity of hatred, rage, and revenge, this account is full of hostile and retaliatory acts. It emphasizes the negative effects of war between two countries that were once together as one nation. In such a situation, it shows that whether army officers or civilians, people will by all odds hurt their friends, neighbors, or even relatives unknowingly.
Sincerely, I'm impressed by the author's vast knowledge of the actual details of a soldier's life and his environment. Without irrelevant information and interestingly, he described the military aspect of the tale in much depth like someone who has been in the armed forces. From his biography, I learnt that his maternal and paternal grandfathers, an uncle, and some cousins were in the Indian Army, and they told him tales about World War II and the border wars over Kashmir. Undoubtedly, he must have also done a lot of research and gotten assistance from some military personnel.
Visibly, the narration is short, but it is fascinating and humorous. Simple, easy-to-read, fluid, and engaging, the plot is a peculiar one. Well written and full of suspense, this book is capable of engrossing its reader and making him reluctant to close it before he is through reading. Using a distinctive writing style, the author presented the story in a manner that makes you impatient to know what the just ridiculed and hurt soldier is planning for his antagonist. Sometimes, as I was expecting to see the next counter-attack, the tempo of the tale would become slow as if the other soldier had relented, but before I would know it, there would be another silly retaliatory strike.
Although fascinating, the text has few conversations. It would have been better if the dialogues were more, and that would have made the plot more interesting. Having dual protagonists that are well-developed and relatable, fewer details were provided about the minor characters, which are just enough to balance the tale since the spotlight was intended to be on Sharma and Khan. Furthermore, I think a full explanation should have been given about what happened at the end. The story closed with little information, leaving readers to figure out the rest. Candidly, the closing made me somewhat confused and needing more of the account.
Overall, this fictional story is brief, appealing, and absorbing. Also, it was professionally edited since I found no typos and grammatical errors. Hence, I grade it 4 out of 4 stars and with delight, I recommend it for anyone who wants to have a pleasurable, quick read.
******
Border Post 99
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like Rosemary Wright's review? Post a comment saying so!
