Fireflies in the Mist Paperback – 28 Nov. 2010

An inter generational saga of all the events that led to the freedom of Bangladesh through the lens of 3 families and their fortunes and misfortunes. Lyrical, replete with natural imagery , the characters of the story will become a part of your life. Totally in awe of the breath of vision and historical knowledge of the author. Qurratulain Hyder deserves the Gyanpith !

The book is amazing. It brings you closer to your understanding of zeal and passion in youth, patience and wisdom in our elders. History that spins around human nature. An endless fable. A must read.

In the beginning I was expecting a story of depth and anguish. But as the story moved on it was stuck without a theme.

Fireflies in the Mist, Qurratulain Hyder’s own translation of her Urdu novel Aakhir-e-Shab ke Hamsafar, spans the history of East Bengal from the time of the nationalist movement against the British, to the creation of East Pakistan, and finally to Bangladeshi independence. The novel centers around Deepali Sarkar, “a young middle-class Hindu who becomes drawn into the extreme left wing of the nationalist movement, and Rehan Ahmed, a Muslim radical with Marxist inclinations who introduces her to the life of the rural deprived. Their common political engagement draws them into a quietly doomed love affair. Through their relationship, Hyder explores the growth of tensions between Bengal’s Hindus and Muslims, who had once shared a culture and a history.”In his introduction to the novel, Pakistani writer Aamer Hussain notes that Fireflies can be seen as another chapter in Hyder’s epic history of the Muslim presence in the subcontinent, and particularly in the era of the Raj. My Temples Too (Mere Bhi Sanam Khanay) chronicles Awadh; River of Fire (Aag ka Darya) takes us to newfound Pakistan; Fireflies adds the saga of East Pakistan and Bangladesh.The story spans a period of over 30 years beginning with the outbreak of World War II in 1939 and ends with the diaspora of Bangladeshis to different parts of the globe after 1971.The novel is largely set in Dhaka, spilling over occasionally to Calcutta, Shantiniketan, Europe and the West Indies. The characters are English and Bengali: Muslim, Hindu and Christians down three generations.The English are represented by the Barlows of the ICS; the Bengalis comprise Muslim nobility as well as maulvis of mosques; the Hindus are drawn from bhadralok. Of the two Christian families one is that of a Bengali Brahmin convert. Reverend Paul Maithew Banerjee, and the other the low-born Biswas from Ludhiana.The story begins with the Bengalis of all communities, except Christian, intensely hating their English rulers and the younger generation taking to the gun and the grenade. To start with, the terrorists are Marxists; then the Quit India movement splits them into two. As Indian Independence is round the corner, the Muslim demand for a separate state gains momentum.Bengalis split into Muslims and Hindus: one wanting Pakistan, the other fiercely opposed to it. Then comes the establishment of East and West Pakistan, ending in the war of 1971. In these years the fortunes of the families go through roller-coaster rides of ideologies and fortunes.Nawabs are reduced to penury. Erstwhile Marxists and terrorists, who survive these holocausts, turn capitalists and become pillars of the establishment. The Barlows scatter over the globe.One becomes an interior decorator in Sydney; another turns gay while the third returns to India as Swamy to preach "eternal truths" by the banks of the Ganga.Altogether too much happens to too many people in too many places. However, it has to be conceded that Fireflies in the Mist is an authentic witness to traumatic events which changed the map of Eastern India in three decades.Hyder is capable of writing lyrical prose and captures the beauty of the Bengal countryside better than any author has done before her. Her translation, however, often jars on the ears because the words she puts in the mouths of her characters, modern though they be, do not ring true.For example: "All right. To work. To English, to England to buy a fat hog. Home again, home again, jiggety jogs."Despite those minor irritations, Fireflies in the Mist is a verv readable novel.

Qurratulain Hyder is one of the few amazing writers, editors, translators of Urdu literature. I just am amazed how many people don't seem to know of her. The introduction written by Aamer Hussein offers such an amazing insight into her personality and life. I had not heard of Aamer Hussein, so will be getting some of his works to check him out.