The nightingale

The Nightingale by Kristan Hannah is a wonderful book based on war. It is a story of two strong sisters who fight in their method. The novel begins with a regular introduction to the life of the sisters Vianne and Isabella. Isabella the youngest is a rebellious girl and people believe that she will cause trouble shortly. The Nazis started slowly taking over France but the changes were so sudden to cope up. Despite everything we find families holding onto hope of meeting their loved ones and that hope led to a lot of people fighting for their loved ones. The uncertainties of life and the fear of the unknown were still present in the hearts of the people. 

The title of the novel itself signifies the sisters who are Rossignol which means Nightingale in English. The name nightingale is also a code word of Isabella to signify her. Jews were the targets of abuse. Women and children were deported just because they were not born in France. The French soldiers were the ones who initiated the move. 

I would like to talk about the relationship between family members and loved ones, the and sacrifices they make for each other. Vianna as a mother always tried to keep her daughter safe both physically as well as emotionally, but with time she grew even for her age. She learns about restrictions, loss of freedom as well and death. As days pass we find mothers being separated from children and sent to camps. The loss of home being displaced in an unknown place and looking forward to freedom. 

In the end lot of people died and vanished, and lots of people remained missing and lots of orphaned children. Isabelle came home but she was no longer the same girl but a lost and broken woman almost dying. She waited and waited for her lover who promised to return. The day her lover returns she dies in his arms with her family surrounding her. 

This novel taught me the value of life and the people surrounding us. There is a few quotes that struck me. 

"Some stories don't have happy endings. Even love stories. Maybe especially love stories."

Waiting makes the letter more precious

 

Letters were once an important source of communication. It was crucial for both parents, relatives and even lovers. Many love stories behind letters. Current technology has made life easier but the thrill of waiting for someone special to send a long message would be far more precious. We also find our parents have letters that they still preserve. Those might be some ordinary words for us but they carry a lot of meaning and stories behind them. Letters exchanged among parents and children are also precious as it contains the love and longing they have for each other. 

The short story "The Letter" by Dhumaketu talks about a father waiting for a letter from his daughter. This short story is a translated work from Gujarati language. The writer whose real name is Gowrishankar Govardhan has published over twenty-four collections of short stories. He also wrote twenty-five historical novels and criticism essays.

This story is about a man named Ali who was a hunter later he left his old hunting life, but his daughter was married off to Punjab and for the next five years he went to the post office regularly waiting for his daughter's letter. Despite harsh weather conditions he went and waited patiently at the post office.  People made fun of him as he daily had to leave empty-handed but it never discouraged him. He had faith and he strongly believed that his daughter  would send him the letters and that kept him strong. He never got the letter when he was alive but still, there was a letter addressed to him.

There are two fathers mentioned in the short story. The one who never understood the pain of waiting in the beginning and made fun of Ali but towards the end he too had to wait for the letter from his daughter which led him to connect to the emotions of Ali. This short story shows the love of a father and the faith and trust he has in his child till the end.