A Thousand Splendid Suns

It was only day 4, I had 24 more days left to go back home. Like the past three previous mornings, I had

woken up to sit and witness the minimal movements that took place in my room. The window which was

situated high on one wall, restricted the view of the outside world, for me it was going to be just four walls, or so I thought. Doctor visits took place twice a day, once in the morning (around 10) and once in the evening (around 5). At fifteen past ten, the door creaked and in walked Nihar Uncle. For anyone who doesn’t know, Nihar Uncle is my life saver, and this time too, he saved me, from the grasp of boredom. He held out a book in his hand and asked “Porechish eta?“ (Have you read this?) I said no, swinging my head from side to side. “Ki korish? Por eta!” (What do you do? Read this!) he said. It was ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini. I had heard of his bestseller ‘The Kite Runner’ on several occasions, but had not read it or any of his works. I took the book, and promised him that I would read it.

I had no idea that it would take a thousand splendid suns to light up my day(s). I was hooked, as soon as I started reading the novel. The urge to finish one page and turn to the other side and continue doing so till I reached the end of the novel. It took an angry “Will you sleep?” from my mom every night to make me stop. I had no account whatsoever of when the days ended and the nights slipped in or what I had for my meals, all I knew was about the lives of two women (Laila and Mariam), so different yet so similar. It took me four nights and three days to complete the novel. And it is a marvellous and heart-wrenching story, why hadn’t I read it earlier? Maybe for me to realise that I am very privileged indeed (even at this point in my life).

Set in Afghanistan, for about a span of 30 years, against its period of political turmoil, Hosseini writes about the lives of two Afghani women, from completely different walks of life, who struggle to survive and battle their own circumstances. As fate brings them together, strangers turn into family and envy turns into love. They set out together against the oppression and finally found their way out, one, in to a life she always dreamed of and another, beyond. As Afghanistan continues to mourn its losses, the story of Mariam and Laila (depicting the lives of Afghani women) has made its way to the world, a world beyond the one they lived in, a world with a thousand splendid suns, and I hope, with all my heart, that all the Mariams and Lailas make their way in to this world too!

I would like to end this post with a quote from the book,

“I'm sorry," Laila says, marveling at how every Afghan story is marked by death and loss and unimaginable grief. And yet, she sees, people find a way to survive, to go on.”