REVIEW OF THE GYPSY TRAIL : LILY SWARN
Book : The Gypsy Trail
Author : Lily Swarn
pp 179
Price Rs 395 , $ 20
Publishers: Authorspress , Delhi , 2018
ISBN 978-9388008686
Through her exquisite penmanship , we see the dreamy eyed ,' gawky girl with oily pigtails', in love with the idea of marrying an army officer , eventually realising her teenage dream , and getting married to a dashing , young , army officer , and travelling with him all over the country , from , Sikkim to Dalhousie , to Deolali Camp, Alwar, Bagrakote, Dinjan [Assam] ,Pune , Janglote , [Kathua], Meerut , Allahabad , Lucknow, Hyderabad , Ferozepur and finally to Chandigarh .' leaving the previous station with a few sniffles and tears ,having packed a truckload of assorted commodities ranging from wicker baskets picked up from a wayside stall ......to huge hunks of artistic driftwood gleefully hauled out of icy rivers in the Himalayas. [p 16] .
Through it all, we see her emerging a highly enriched woman , and in the bargain , managing to enrich us too, by writing vividly about the history and the mystery of the places that she has travelled to, with her man in Olive Green .
The Gypsy Trail , dedicated to her beloved son, Gobind Shahbaaz Singh , 'an angel in Heaven , who lived all of twenty three years', is a poignantly penned 'work of fiction in a bit of a twilight zone'[P 9, preface ] , a 'salutation to all the unknown and unsung ladies who wait and worry but hardly show that they also weep '[p 10]
Going through the book , I also doffed my mental hat , with the author , to those intrepid soldiers who brave blizzards in high altitudes and treacherous climate , leading a lonesome life , yearning for a whiff of home.
We find the newly weds gathering straw and twigs , for their miniscule nest in Baloon cantonment in picturesque Dalhousie , and some humorous incidents that occur there , made me laugh uproariously. Seva Singhji , the elderly Sikh , her husband's helper , literally had me in splits by his innocent quirkiness.
The army officer' wives were to come to her place for a morning cup of tea, , and the young army wife , frantically consulting recipe books , had rustled up some snacks for the occasion , leaving the making of coffee to Seva Singh. No sooner had the dishes been polished off , than she
" saw Seva Singh poke his head out of the kitchen door in a melodramatic manner . He whispered in a loud theatrical soliloquy audible to all , "Madame ,I have added the tea leaves to the boiling water. May I add the coffee powder now ? "[p 37 ]
Many such incidents embellish the book , funny , sunny and sad , leaving one with the fragrance of a lingering nostalgia .
This is a book which should definitely adorn the libraries of the Armed Forces , and be read by all book- lovers .
Author : Lily Swarn
pp 179
Price Rs 395 , $ 20
Publishers: Authorspress , Delhi , 2018
ISBN 978-9388008686
Through her exquisite penmanship , we see the dreamy eyed ,' gawky girl with oily pigtails', in love with the idea of marrying an army officer , eventually realising her teenage dream , and getting married to a dashing , young , army officer , and travelling with him all over the country , from , Sikkim to Dalhousie , to Deolali Camp, Alwar, Bagrakote, Dinjan [Assam] ,Pune , Janglote , [Kathua], Meerut , Allahabad , Lucknow, Hyderabad , Ferozepur and finally to Chandigarh .' leaving the previous station with a few sniffles and tears ,having packed a truckload of assorted commodities ranging from wicker baskets picked up from a wayside stall ......to huge hunks of artistic driftwood gleefully hauled out of icy rivers in the Himalayas. [p 16] .
Through it all, we see her emerging a highly enriched woman , and in the bargain , managing to enrich us too, by writing vividly about the history and the mystery of the places that she has travelled to, with her man in Olive Green .
The Gypsy Trail , dedicated to her beloved son, Gobind Shahbaaz Singh , 'an angel in Heaven , who lived all of twenty three years', is a poignantly penned 'work of fiction in a bit of a twilight zone'[P 9, preface ] , a 'salutation to all the unknown and unsung ladies who wait and worry but hardly show that they also weep '[p 10]
Going through the book , I also doffed my mental hat , with the author , to those intrepid soldiers who brave blizzards in high altitudes and treacherous climate , leading a lonesome life , yearning for a whiff of home.
We find the newly weds gathering straw and twigs , for their miniscule nest in Baloon cantonment in picturesque Dalhousie , and some humorous incidents that occur there , made me laugh uproariously. Seva Singhji , the elderly Sikh , her husband's helper , literally had me in splits by his innocent quirkiness.
The army officer' wives were to come to her place for a morning cup of tea, , and the young army wife , frantically consulting recipe books , had rustled up some snacks for the occasion , leaving the making of coffee to Seva Singh. No sooner had the dishes been polished off , than she
" saw Seva Singh poke his head out of the kitchen door in a melodramatic manner . He whispered in a loud theatrical soliloquy audible to all , "Madame ,I have added the tea leaves to the boiling water. May I add the coffee powder now ? "[p 37 ]
Many such incidents embellish the book , funny , sunny and sad , leaving one with the fragrance of a lingering nostalgia .
This is a book which should definitely adorn the libraries of the Armed Forces , and be read by all book- lovers .
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