NAULAKHI KOTHI BY ALI AKBAR NATIQ (TRANSLATED FROM THE URDU BY NAIMA RASHID)

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BOOK NAME: NAULAKHI KOTHI

AUTHOR NAME: ALI AKBAR NATIQ (TRANSLATED FROM THE URDU BY NAIMA RASHID)

GENRE: HISTORICAL FICTION

PUBLISHER: PENGUIN INDIA




BOOK REVIEW

I wanted to read this book in a hurry and finish it faster because I was reading it as the last one for the challenge in 2025. But the theme and narration were so intense that I didn’t want to rush it. So, I let the story breathe, as it held me in its chokehold completely. It is set during the pre-partition era in India, in Jalalabad and Naulakhi Kothi, and then takes the readers on a journey many years after independence and Partition. The feud between Muslims and Sikhs in the pre-Partition Punjab is the central theme of the story.


Three powerful men are involved in the story — Ghulam Haider, Sauda Singh, and William. But whose story affected me the most, and who haunted me long after the book ended, was William: a British man born in India who loved his birthplace more than the natives. His story ripped me apart, and the betrayal was beyond tolerable. This may sound diabolical, but somehow the most compassionate, patriotic, logical, and sane character in the story was William, who seemed better than any Muslim, Hindu, or Sikh portrayed in the narrative.


I would rate this book very highly among Partition literature, and I believe everyone should definitely read it. The chaos, politics, rivalry, bloodshed, injustice, betrayal, and nationalism of the pre-Partition era are powerfully represented.


This is a part of BlogchatterA2Z2026 challenge 

#penbooksandscalepel


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