Book review: The Watchmaker

Just finished reading 'THE WATCHMAKER' a moving tale of love, respect
and melancholy. The original work aptly titled 'pavitra paapi'
describes the life of a man who's taken the support of lies to do the
godliest deed of preserving the ruth. A must read.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13334909-the-watchmaker

This book, a small 180 page paperback, caught my attention while
strolling in the Second Amdavad National Book Fair, and I decided to
buy it as soon as I read the description on the back cover.

" Kedar, orphaned and penniless, comes to Rawalpindi in search of a
job. He finds employment as a watchmaker,but discovers, to his horror,
that he has taken away Panna Lal's job, whose debts are mountins by
the day................"

on the very first day of this job, a deadly curse falls on his head
from the wrenched heart of this Pannalal who confesses in his letter
that he has not left him any option than to die.

With this letter opens the story of this marvelous Punjabi classic by
Nanak Singh. The novel, starting from a brief prologue in a first
person singular by the author keeps you rooted to the tale untill the
last page of the story. The way he has weaved the character of the
Watchmaker, and the way he has tried to portray the emotions of a man
orphaned and alone at too young an age.

The second most important character in this book Veena, the adolescent
daughter of Pannalal, who has taken a prime spot in the heart of this
young man, and who impresses the reader with her simple yet elegant
poise, is a beauty everyone would praise for. The way her emotions,
and her dilemma, and her sobs have been penned down in the novel, you
almost feel like entering the plot and patting her shoulder to ease
her pain. A young girl of barely 15 who till a few days ago was
happily playing in the rosy fantasies of a dreamlike marriage, finds
herself in a tight, tearful a situation where she learns that the Man
she's taken care of as a big brother, homes feelings for her, and
threatens to die for her.

Then there is Maya, the wife of that wretched man, who provides
shelter and food to the stranger who's taken away her husband,
harbors a motherly feeling for this young man Kedar,and showers all
her affection on him. Coming so close to replace the original mother
he has lost a few years ago.

The story is gripping from the start, and not a single word is wasted
carrying the unwanted frills other emo-writers would've invested upon.
Its plain, its easy, its smooth. Its words are not heavy, and the
lines are exactly the lines you'd have thought had you been in the
characters's place. The author has narrated it so beautifully you'll
not notice a single flaw in the simple story line.

I'm suppressing my wish of writing too much in this review, lest I
disclose whole of the plot. So I end this post without probing
further. In case you're looking for a classic tale, carrying the
simple and measured tones of the 50's era of righteousness and honour,
this book is for you. I'm sure.