Books by Bedside: The three books I must have at all times

Atlas, Dictionary, Yearbook....

Are there certain books which you require more than others? Or the books which you must have in your room or on your table?

As far as I am concerned, there are some books that I need to consult on a regular basis and ensure that they are always within reach. 

I always prefer them than going to a Search Engine to find certain information. The first is Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

In my school years, I had even more voluminous dictionaries of Oxford, Collins and Chambers. But in later years, I realised the importance of Advanced Learner's, as it tells not just the meaning but also the usage i.e. how to use the word. 

I have this dictionary at my home, another copy in my office and yet another Advanced Learner's at my ancestral place. I'm sure I am not obsessed with it. The second is Atlas. I must have it around me. Maps have always fascinated me from childhood. 

This is a books that you need to consult quite often. Either it is about location of a city within a country or about whether boundaries of a state touched another state [or sea], Atlas is a must. The third is the Manorama Yearbook.

It can be any other Yearbooks like Europa also help. But I have been  buying Manorama Yearbook since 1989. Though standards aren't the same now a days but it is still the best Yearbook for information pertaining to India.

The cricket lovers' Bible

If you feel like checking whether Allahabad is a bigger district in terms of population or Varanasi or about the area of Janjgir or Jalpaiguri, it is the best book to have on your table. 

In older versions, they had more details like exhaustive statistics on religious and linguistic populations, in-depth coverage about political events and political history of Indian states and other tidbits. 

But it is still a great reference book. I always believe that a DICTIONARY, An ENCYCLOPAEDIA/YEARBOOK and an ATLAS, are three books that must near you--so that if a thought comes to you or you in a doubt, you should be able to immediately get the details. 

Apart from them, you can have other books depending on your interest. I keep two other books in this list. They are always on my centre table or the table near my bed. They include WISDEN and the URDU-ENGLISH dictionary. 

Earlier, I also had a qamoos--the Farhang-e-Aamira, a unique dictionary that gives meaning of most tough Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Turkish words. There are some other additions to this list. A few other reference books which should be in the shelf near you.

Now tell me the names of the books you consult most or the ones which you wish to have around you.

Shaukat Siddiqui's 'Khuda Ki Basti': An epic Urdu novel that depicts human suffering and the spirit to survive against all odds

It was a strange feeling. I had just started reading one of the greatest Urdu novels ever written, 'Khuda ki Basti' and finished a few chapters of it but the next morning I got the news that Shaukat Siddiqui, the author, had passed away in Pakistan.

I had always heard names of three great post-partition novels 'Aag ka Daryaa' by Qurratul Ain Hyder, Udas Naslein by Abdullah Husain and Shaukat Siddiqui's Khuda ki Basti, ever since my childhood.

Hyder's Aag ka Darya was readily available and I also got its English transliteration 'River of Fire', in order to lend it to friends.

I could not find Udaas Naslen but I bought its translation that was published in India a couple of years back under the title 'Weary Generations' I got from Hazratganj [Lucknow].

The third novel Khuda ki Basti [The Blessed City/God's Own Land] eluded me for long. All efforts to get it were in vain for years.

A library where I found it in index, had refused to lend it to me as it was in two volumes and the first part had been missing. Recently they somehow got the first volume and hence I issued the whole book comprising two volumes.

I had not read Shaukat Siddiqui, though he belonged to Lucknow, my birthplace. An Urdu novel that has seen over 50 editions would surely have some unique quality, I knew, but I regret that I could read it so late. It is a very dark novel and while reading it, I, for once, had to review my opinion about the critics of Qurratul Ain Hyder.

Yes, I staunchly felt that those who termed Hyder as a 'bourgeoise writer' and charge her of 'writing for the upper/upper-middle class and romanticising the past', were nothing but a frustrated lot. But as I read Shaukat Siddiqui's masterful story, I could see the real Lucknow, the real Lahore and the real Karachi.

The life of ordinary people in the aftermath of partition, the large number of real people who suffered and who are always on the brink--trying their best to prevail upon their misfortune but whose every effort is thwarted. 

The dreams of the teenaged boys and street kids and their language could never have been written by somebody else with such perfection. Siddiqui never returned to Lucknow but his portrayal of the life of the City's [Lahore-Karachi have the reflection of Lucknow also in the novel] poor and under-privileged class is unmatched [and scary].

The story of teenaged Sultana, whose dreams die young and poverty forces her mother to ask her to elope with a suitor but even he doesn't turn up and her mother has to marry the person who had his eye on the daughter.

Sultana's brother who works at a mechanic's workshop is fired. He runs away but lands up in a juvenile home from where he goes to a pickpocket's school. One of his friend, who earned a few paisas by pushing the cart of a leper beggar also has a tragic fate. 


Other characters of the novel including Sultana's younger brother and her suitor also struggle to survive. Though the noel is terribly gloomy but the characters keep you spellbound. In their struggle for survival, some characters find peace though it is short-lived. 

However, Shaukat Siddiqui has succeeded in writing an exceptional novel that looks like an insider's account of the world where the word 'people' doesn't mean just the businessmen, politicians and bureaucrats or the occasional teacher.


Rather, they are eunuchs, thieves, sodomites, catamites, pickpockets, beggars, streetchildren, activists, zealots, mechanics, junk-dealers and so many others move along side you, forcefully making their presence felt and capturing your imagination.

And once again, the novel speaks their language and lives their hopes and failures, not the author's. It's tragic, yes. It's gloomy, yes but you need to read it. It's damn good! Wish to read more of his works soon. 


For news about his demise. Click. As far the novel is concerned, it's a must-read book that will leave a strong impression on you. It will help us understand human suffering, the extent of exploitation of the poor children, particularly, the street urchins, and in process help us become more evolved and more sensitive persons. 

Major literary works focusing on Indian Muslims: Books dealing with Muslim issues, India's partition and Indo-Islamic culture of the sub-continent

Strong novel against Hindu, Muslim communalism

A gentleman, Rao Sahab, has asked me about literary works of Indian Muslims that can give him a peek into the culture, thought process, fears, anxieties, hopes and aspirations of the minority community.

I think the post should be regarding novels on Indian Muslims. Yes there are some books which are a must read for not just Muslims but non-Muslims in this country as well. 

I thought I should share with you. I recommend these books to everybody. Here is a list of the major works of fiction, many of whom have been translated in English and Hindi also.

1. Qurratul Ain Haider's Aag ka Darya translated as River of Fire is one of the greatest novels ever written in any language. The characters of Gautam Nilambar, Kamaal and Champa appear in different eras--from the period of Chandragupta Maurya to Sultanate era, Mughals, arrival of East India company and later when India gets divided into Hindustan and Pakistan.

2. Abdus Samad's 'Do Gaz Zameen' that deals with psyche of Muslims until Bangladesh's creation and after. It has been translated in almost a dozen languages.

3. Salahuddin Parvez' Shinakhtnaama or Identity Card, a landmark work in the backdrop of Ayodhya Movement. Apart from the story, its the style that captures the imagination of the reader.

4. Rahi Masoom Raza's 'Topi Shukla', a must-read for all Indians, a small novel originally in Hindi which I am sure can change the thinking of fanatic Hindus and Muslims and force them to introspect.

The boy who was dark complexioned, not loved by parents, hated Muslims in his young age and took admission in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to see these 'anti-nationals', later lives a bohemian life, befriends Muslims, falls in love with Muslim girl and has a rather tragic end.

Raza who wrote script of Mahabharat is a master and his command over the dialects of UP and understanding of human psychology, belief in secularism and communal harmony is unparalleled.

5. Raza's Adha Gaon or a Village Divided [recently translated in English] is another beautiful novel about Muslims, particularly the Shia Muslims and their culture, in country side of Uttar Pradesh [Ghazipur's rural and qasbah life].

Qurratul Ain Hyder

6. In Hindi, Manzoor Ahtesham's Sukha Bargad translated as 'A Dying Banyan'. It has also become a sort of classic now as it explores Hindu-Muslim relations in the post-independence era.

7. Another interesting one is Asghar Vajahat [or Wajahat's] 'Saat Aasmaan'. The novel has ample humour as Wajahat's characters have interesting anecdotes & stories to recount, which keep you hooked.

Yet another Rahi Masoom Raza novel, 'Neem ka Ped' on which a TV serial was based, comes to mind. Rahi also wrote 'Himmat Jaunpuri', which is not too easily available these days.

8. Abdul Bismillah's 'Jhini Bini Chadaria' is considered a good novel as it deals with weavers of Benares though I was not impressed much with it. The fact that novel deals about poor Muslims and not Nawabs, Upper Class or Aristocrats is noteworthy.

9. A unique novel is Kaala Jal by Gulsher Khan Shani, one of the first Muslim writers to take up Hindi as a medium of expression, instead of Urdu. The setting is in remote Bastar, the heart of tribal territory. A television serial on the novel with Pallavi Joshi as lead character was quite a hit in the mid-80s.

10. Ilyas Ahmad Gaddi's brilliant work 'Fire Area' is about the miners in coal fields of Bihar. Gaddi's novel has been acclaimed one of the best works in Urdu fiction in India in the last decade or so. Unfortunately I haven't read it.

11. Musharraf Alam Zauqi's 'bayaan' is a major novel. It deals with the insecurities and frustration that had gripped Muslims after demolition of Babri Masjid and the riots in Mumbai, Surat etc.

I have not read Syed Mohammad Ashraf's 'Nambardaar ka Neela' that got great reviews. There are other good Muslim authors who have written good novels but firsthand I remember these and all of them are a must-read. Amongst the earlier works is Hayatullah Ansari's voluminous Lahoo ke Phool, which I unfortunately couldn't read.

Udas Naslein translated in English 

12. The query is about Muslim writers otherwise I was reading Ravindra Kalia's famous 'Khuda Salaamat Hai' and was enchanted by it. 

Set in a mohalla of a North Indian town that has an equal population of Hindus & Muslims, inhabited by shopkeepers, mullahs, pundits, tawaifs & all sorts of people, it depicts the strength of our common heritage & ganga-jamuni culture.


Shamsur Rahman Faruqi has written 'Kai Chand The Sar-e-Aasman', but we await a magnum opus from him on partition and its impact on composite cultural heritage.

Besides, Khushwant Singh's 'Delhi' is one of my favourites. No matter what people say about the 'vulgarity' in the novel, it remains the best work on Delhi along with Ahmad Ali's 'Twilight in Delhi' which is now considered a legendary work.

Ahmed Ali's novel is in a class of its own. It gives a glimpse into the Dehlvi tehzeeb of yore, the life and culture in Delhi, before partition.

And whenever it comes to partition, it is impossible to forget Saadat Hasa Manto. Among short stories I rank Hindi writer Nasira Sharma and her 'Patthar Gali' quite highly. In fact, I have suggested more than 20 novels by now. Enough for this post, I guess.