The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas
by Rohit K Dasgupta
The Kashmir Shawl, the latest novel by Rosie Thomas, the award winning author of Iris and Ruby and Constance, recreates the stunning landscapes of the stark Welsh countryside, and the lush valleys of Kashmir.
The novel itself is an exciting, richly detailed and tightly woven narrative that spans decades, tracing the origins of an antique shawl, which Mair Ellis finds whilst clearing out her father’s house following his death. The antique shawl acts as an object which helps her discover her past as she unlocks the secrets of her family.
The novel has two simultaneous narratives, the present Wales and the past Kashmir. Through the flashback narrative the reader is introduced the lifestyle of the British during the Colonial Raj and the drama and tragedies of their indulgent lifestyles.
Thomas’ representation of Kashmir is a tactful one; indeed, introducing readers to such a tragically war-ravaged region is never an easy task. Thomas does so successfully by revealing a Srinagar in which the British live idyllic lives on houseboats, flirt and gossip and go for frequent parties, but contrasts it with the looming figure of the war, as we gradually see how this affect the lives of the three women protagonists.
Thomas’ handling of the war, to a great extent, forms the backbone of the novel. Although it is mostly kept in the background and we only come across it frequently as third person narrative, it trickles throughout the narative. This technique, which is reminiscent of the ancient Greek tragedies, works very well for this novel as the story focuses not on the war itself but on its impact on people like Nerys, Caroline and Myrtle.
One of the first things that The Kashmir Shawl evokes is a sense of longing – a longing for a home you might have left behind. On a more powerful level, however, Thomas also evokes a strong feminist sentiment, when we are confronted with the friendship and resilience of the characters- Caroline, Myrtle and Nerys, Mair Ellis’ grandmother. Despite the patriarchal structure imposed by the colonial government, we see how these women find their own freedom in the face of vulnerability.
Through tragic consequences, Thomas introduces the reader to friendships that survive even in the face of violence. For me, the three central women characters represent a facet of colonial womanhood that is often subdued under masculine pressure. Thomas in this novel shows how their strength came not from any physical force but rather their virtues of love, and sacrifices which hold their bonds of friendship together.
The last time I fell in love with a book set in Kashmir was Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Thomas’ use of language creates the same sense of magic realism, and she conveys layers of meaning through each sentence. In the last sequence where Mair Ellis is imagining her future once she leaves India, she writes: “Happiness unexpectedly possessed her; its reality seemed as perfect and indestructible and as fleeting as the moment of the flight itself.” We the readers can almost feel the same emotions that she is going through.
If there is one criticism, perhaps, it is that the ending is too hastily presented and certain plot sequences such as the reunion of Zahra and Farida not explained wholly.
Through the story of Mair Ellis tracing her roots back to India, we are confronted with a much grimmer picture of Srinagar, which has been ravaged by inter-religious wars and debates on separatism. Situating this work between the discourses around politics, love and travel, Rosie Thomas has created a remarkably poignant story.
This novel seems to have come out in a very crucial juncture, when Kashmir is going through one of its most turbulent political phases with the detainment of human rights activists and charges of sedition against people who don’t conform to the Indian government’s ‘version’ of nationalism. As a postcolonial novel, it goes beyond the cartographic limitations of the nation and presents before me a story of an integrated India which we rarely come across as differences overcome the commonalities of this nation. Most notably, however, The Kashmir Shawl injects enough human warmth, for us to want to read it cover to cover in a single sitting.
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