memories of a father: book review

A book written with pain and tears, memories of a father, deals with the grief, sorrow, ordeal and trauma of losing an innocent son to the hands of tyrannical bureaucracy.

The gullible face of a child on the cover of the book and the simple but powerful title made me want to grab a copy and read. Set during time of Emergency, the arrest of a twenty-something-engineering-student for no fault of his, followed by his sudden disappearance seemed to be a good bait for me to read the book.

A hundred-page-book authored by the victim’s father Prof. Eachara Varier, a retired language professor does a remarkable and commendable job at blending words and emotion to teleport you into his shoes. The reader feels the agony and angst of the author. Translated eloquently from Malyalam by Neelan, the book is published by Asian Human Rights Commission.

A brilliant and a fast paced read, a minor setback would be the listing of many names of friends and culprits (to give credibility to the book) could be a little overwhelming for the reader. The author does an impeccable job of creating and keeping suspense alive from the first page, with the title of the first chapter – ‘a plantain leaf and a bowl of rice kept waiting’, to the last page.

Your heart will bleed for the innocent people who have lost their lives to extrajudicial killings and the personal tragedy faced by near and dear, at the same time giving hope that justice is served and showing the true face of human determination.

The PDF version of the book can be downloaded from here.