Book Review: The Watchmaker
The Watchmaker, English
translation by Navdeep Suri of the Punjabi classic by Nanak Singh-a nuanced and
poetic translation brings alive a tragic tale of unrequited love. The author has
cast a spell over his audience, completely spell bound by the wizardry of the
narrative. This book tells the story of ‘Kedar’ a young man who after going
through life’s cruelty and hardships ends up affecting and impacting on the
world and happiness of “Panna Lal” and his family. The poet has painted a
realistic portrait of that beautiful but unfortunate soul.
Panna Lal’s family was going through a particularly difficult and
hard time. There were prosperous days when his business was rising but
unexpected losses had abruptly reduced him to penury. His debts kept mounting
by the day. He and her wife “Maya” had four children-two girls and two boys. The
eldest one “Veena” had to be married soon but he had lost all hopes of marrying
her as they weren’t able to arrange for the dowry after they received a letter
from her “in-laws”. All this could not be settled on just a mere salary of Rs
35/-per month as he was employed as an accountant by a shop owner “Sardar Attar
Singh”. He couldn’t make up to Sardarji’s demands due to his poor eye sight. As
mere consequences Sardarji employed a new worker holding his B.A degree and
dismissed Panna Lal. Thereafter he was completely broken and shattered and his
life had become darker and more frightening.
Coincidently the new employed worker of Attar Singh was the same
Kedar-orphaned and penniless, who came in search of a job to sustain his own
life. Unable to face his own family Panna Lal wrote a letter to Kedar
expressing his grief and grievances and showered his curses on him blaming him
for his fate and finally decided to end his life. Kedar was totally dejected
and tried to search him but all in vain. To hide his sin he had to tell Panna
Lal’s family a lie that the shop owner had sent him to Bombay for business
transactions and he was mesmerized by the beauty of Veena at her first glance.
He was able to persuade all family members about the safety and well being of
Panna Lal. He found a shelter nearby their house. He started giving private tuitions
to Veena and started supporting her family through his income as he was feeling
remorse for parting Panna Lal with his family. He kept writing letters to his
family on his behalf about his well being. He became the integral part of the
family.
When Kedar came to know about the complications in Veena’s
marriage he persuaded Biji to negotiate with her in-laws and arranged the dowry
by selling his own house. He placed advertisements to find Panna Lal. In this
way he took the burden of his family on his shoulders. All sorrows and
happiness were equally shared with him. To Veena he became like her own
brother.
Then came the turning point in his life when Maya has gone to
Veena’s in laws and she was all alone with her siblings. He was precariously
perched on the horns of this dilemma of pursuing Veena from where even a small
gust of wind could topple him, oscillating between the foundation of nectar and
the cesspool of unmitigated desire. Morality and lust haunted Kedar, and tour
his soul apart. When he shared his feelings and his desires with Veena, a chill
ran down her spine and she was completely dumbstruck by his proposal as she
always considered him as her brother. Kedar asked her to persuade Biji for
their marriage.
Kedar’s health continued to decline and decay from that day on and
Veena started to worry for him.Kedar’s behaviour towards Veena had changed a
lot from that day on. She dreamt of her life about marrying her husband. She
was in that world of utopia which lies at the border of maidenhood and married
life. She was completely swept away by these thoughts. The very same night Biji
returned and she was successful in negotiating terms with in-laws while Kedar
was still lost in Veena’s thoughts. When Biji summoned Kedar to discuss about
the future plans for Veena’s marriage he was totally bewildered and she also
asked him to write a letter to Panna Lal and request Sardarji to summon him
back.
Kedar’s thoughts started tormenting Veena. Her mind was
alternating between two very different images-the first of a platonic friend, almost
a brother, and the other something new and entirely different. The first image
suffused her mind with a pleasing fragrance, while the second sent flames
leaping through her heart. Kedar remained disappeared for four days and when
returned he brought Rs 800/- for Veena’s marriage by selling his own house.
Afterwards Kedar realised the unbroken bond of their relationship and finally
assured her to get married and live her prosperous life.
Veena’s anxiety over Kedar’s condition was rising, as she saw a
progressive deterioration in his health. He began smoking to keep himself away
from Veena’s thoughts. At times she threatened him to stop his habits but
nothing could shake him. All marriage arrangements were at peak and Kedar was
in a deep pool of sadness and his health continued to decline. Kedar continued
to avoid Veena and she began growing concerns for him. On exploring him she
found the storm built inside of him, she found that he was completely broken
and shattered.
On the other end everyone was dejected when Panna Lal didn’t
turn up for his daughter’s wedding and there Kedar was completely broken
after her marriage. Soon another problem pounced over him. Panna Lal’s
uncleared bills and loans kept rising and the loan which he took from a clerk
kept piling up. As a dire consequence he threatened to mortgage their house and
after a big dispute and debate over it Kedar managed to settle the issue to
some extent. When one day Attar Singh came to enquire about Panna Lal’s
whereabouts, Maya came to know about the truth which left her in a state of
complete shock and bewilderment. A cold sweat ran down her spine and scared the
hell out of her. And then Kedar left his job explaining every reason from the
beginning about his acts in his letter to Attar Singh. Maya was completely perplexed
about losing his husband and then Kedar. There Veena was also not happy in her
newly wedded home as Kedar’s thoughts tormented her. When she returned to her
mother’s home they both came to know about all the secrets and burden of Kedar
through his letter which he kept in his heart deep down for so long.
Moving away from Rawalpindi, Kedar set up his own business of
Watchmaker in Amritsar and cleared all his debts to Biji and Attar Singh by his
earnings. And suddenly one day Panna Lal arrived at his shop and told about his
whereabouts for the past few years and appreciated his selfless service to his
family. Kedar was shattered when he learnt about Veena’s death and the
disclosure of their secret relationship to the family. Panna Lal pleaded him to
come back to marry his younger daughter Vidya but he didn’t agree as it would
aggravate his wounds. After a short span of time Kedar breathed his last and
was relieved from the heavy burden of pain and sorrows that he carried through
his entire youth.
The author has painted a very beautiful and appreciable picture of
the protagonist as the reader was completely jubilant. The story was able to
hold the reader’s imaginations till the climax. The selfless service and
humanity of Kedar has moved the reader. The story brings about the strange form
of love, beyond the bonds of marriage. Kedar and Veena’s trust on each other,
complicated relationship was way above all getting mad for each other. The
author as the protagonist’s neighbour gives a glimpse of the plot. Above all
Nanak Singh’s narrative style is appreciable and this epic love story has
penetrated the minds of the reader to rethink about the complicated tales of
love and its sacrifices.
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