What
is the book about?
Precocious,
little Lenny Sethi is fascinated by the Ice Candy Man who flirts
incessantly with Shanta, her ayah.
When
Lahore is declared part of Pakistan, a spate of migrations,
conversions and violence erupt in the city. Lenny witnesses the Ice
Candy Man's transformation, as he revels in the carnage unfolding on
the streets. Lenny
is then deceived by him into revealing Shanta's whereabouts and along
with a group of marauders, he abducts Shanta. Lenny's
godmother, Roda, becomes her bulwark and rights the wrong caused by
Lenny's truthfulness.
Who
is it by?
Bapsi
Sidhwa's is one of the definitive voices of the Indian subcontinent.
Her novels, written in English, have been translated into several
languages. Sidhwa is, much like her polio-afflicted protagonist
Lenny, a Zoroastrian of Pakistani origin and the city of Lahore is
central to many of her novels.
Why
should I read it?
Also
called Cracking India, the book vividly captures the bestial violence
that erupted during the Partition as witnessed by Lenny. Sidhwa
wonderfully captures Lenny's voice, with all its petulance, raw
frankness and stirring sensitivity. Ice Candy Man has also been made
into a movie, Earth, by Deepa Mehta.
An edited version of the article was published in Culturama's August 2012 Issue.
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