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war: where all regret by ram chanduri

Read on 19.03.2019

Book ~ WAR: Where All Regret (A Novella)

Author ~ Ram Chanduri

Blurb ~ 
The story of a British soldier in 1920's India which will touch your hearts!
Jimmy Cheshire is a British soldier, who fancies joining his country in the first World War, but he fails to do so. Later, excelling in the newly advent rifles, he achieves his dream. He will be sent to India, which was then a British colony. What are the experiences he confronts there?
Come along with Jim on his journey, which has joys, sorrows, revenge, remorse and many more.

I've been meaning to read this book by one of my best friends for a long time. For some reason or the other, I wasn't getting to read it. However, today, I decided that I must read this TODAY, no matter what!

A British soldier, with heart beating to serve his country, sets off to India during the British Colonial times. However, little does he know that this is going to change his life forever.

The author slowly acquaints us with the background of the story. There are revolts erupted against the British rule, all over the country. There's desperation in the British officials to claim their power and continue ruling.

Jimmy, the protagonist, is put through instances where he has to question his beliefs.

However, he's shaken when he witnessed the innocent suffering during the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. Thousands of people died. Media gives us a number. However, the author gives us the reality. Women, kids crying all around, lying helplessly in pain. Corpses piling up. Families lost. The author tugs at your heart string by the lines, "This graveyard must be the richest place in the world
because it is here where you'll find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, of the self's and their family's, the thoughts which were never shared and many lives losing their significance abruptly, all
because of the bloodthirst of a few madmen for riches and power."

This is followed by a series of nightmares, guilt of having the blood of naive people on his hands. He goes about to search the truth, the reality, the justice. How Jimmy finds his truth, how he faces bitter reality and how deep the cut is when we lose family - you must read the book to find the answers.

What I loved about the book is that there was no romanticization of the victim. There's pain to both the sides in a war - the victim and the victor.

There's an entire spectrum of emotions in this book. You can feel the guilt of Jimmy as he watches revolters turn from flesh to ash in front of him, a woman crying out for help, a child running helplessly. You can feel the trauma of not supporting your countrymen for the sake of humanity. The hunger for the truth. The determination to stay by humanity.

War serves no one. There's nothing right in it ever.
In the words of the author, Ram Chanduri,
"When people refuse to fight, either in life or death, the war will end. War is a place where you've to decide between your family or country and humanity. But, this is a war. You must win or die. A war can either end with a win or a defeat, but you just don't know what winning is and what losing is. There's only one choice. Either you've to die on the battlefield or live with the guilt of what your hands have done. But, this is different. I can't die and if I live, I die every day."

I request you all to read this book, not because Ram is my close friend, but because this book really deserves a lot.💕

Find this book in Amazon. Link in the inline comment section.

To read more of the author Ram Chanduri, follow him in here ramchanduri or in Instagram @microfictionwriter.

Have a lovely day! Take care :)