JASMINE DAYS - Benyamin

Jasmine Days is a translated work of fiction. It was originally written by Benyamin in Malayalam in 2014 as Mullappoo Niramulla Pakalukal, and translated into English by Shahnaz Habib. It came under my radar after it won the inaugural JCB Prize for Literature in 2018, but I only got around to reading it very recently when I heard of its sequel, The Al Arabian Novel Factory. 

TL;DR- Jasmine Days was compelling enough to make me want to read the sequel, at the earliest.

The Jasmine revolution started with the self-immolation of a street vendor in Tunisia. This soon turned into the Arab Spring and went on to spread to Egypt, Libya, and Morocco. Jasmine Days is set in the City (the author deliberately never clarifies the name of the city or the country where the story is based out of) in the Middle East roughly around that time, and covers the riots that take place under the garb of politics, nationalism, religious conflicts, and the physical and mental trauma that ensues.

The narrator is Sameera Parvin, a minority Muslim immigrant woman from Pakistan. She starts the story with her initial struggles in a new country. Both her personal life (friends and extended family), as well as her professional life, have challenges for her. Her days as the Hindi radio jockey at the radio station, Orange Radio, are devoted to frequent fights with the Malayalam Mafia- a term given to the Kerala immigrants working with her. Though she gradually finds a friend in co-worker Ali Fardan. Ali is of Iranian origin however, which leads to him being seen as a 'second-class citizen' in the City. He is a guitarist- a Jimi Hendrix fan- who plays in the String Walkers, a group of musicians who play rock 'n' roll in the same spirit as Arab music. Sameera, blissfully unaware of his identity, also starts hanging out with the String Walkers, and finds unexpected solace with them. At home living with her extended family from Pakistan, many of whom have been living in the City for decades, Sameera stands out- with only Aisha aunty and her little cousin Farhana for comfort.

Suddenly, all of them come face to face with a revolution in a country that is not their own. Sameera and Ali are friends, mostly bonding over music- leading them to ponder over topics of freedom and identity, revealing the inner struggles of the native and the outsider. While this just makes those around both of them uncomfortable, it leads to more and significant differences later on once the Revolution begins. Sameera tries to make sense of the revolution through these conversations. When it gradually transforms into a fight of identities, Ali and Sameera find themselves on opposite sides of the revolution staged by the second-class citizens against His Majesty, the ruler.

It is from here that Benyamin's writing really comes out. The rather raw and conversational depiction of the Arab Spring strikes a chord with the reader. As Sameera navigates through unanticipated circumstances, a simple yet powerful narration makes you feel for her. It is also where Sameera's unabashed and sassy self comes out in little anecdotes. Nevertheless, through Sameera, we get an insight into unpleasant complexities of the region- a critique about the bureaucracy and governance of the country. It is during this understanding that Sameera comes across a well-wisher, who tells her one of the most important dialogues of the book:

"In the most trying moments of your life, do only that you know to be absolutely right."

Benyamin doesn't leave out Islamic fundamentalism too. While initially, it does feel like Sameera glorifying Sunni households of Pakistan, she makes up for it in the latter part. Sameera's Pakistani father chooses to send her a Christmas card once to demonstrate that he cares for his daughter. In the times of revolution, the author also strikes at the center of the Middle East's male dominance. The males and females in the household have tremendously different regulations and interpretations.

What impelled me the most was the fact that none of the characters or communities is justified. The story comes out well-researched, and with no historical inaccuracies. The tensions between different groups have been put out matter-of-factly, which added to the book's appeal for me. It also talked about the sacrifices and hardships during any political upheaval faced by the common folk- the poor citizens, the nurses, those who wanted to buy groceries, et al.

The ending has sudden and unexpected twists, maybe one too many. Unlike the comfortable pace of the book throughout, a lot suddenly happens towards the end. Perhaps it was intentional; since it seems written like a preview to the next part. I left the book feeling with a want to know more about the characters. The sequel, it seems, dwells into them. I cannot wait to know the end of Sameera's story. Even though the book mentions it, the reader would know there is much more that would have happened. 

In short, I am definitely going to read The Al Arabian Novel Factory. Hope it lives up to the hype Jasmine Days has created for it!

Postscript- I had to at least try to figure out the City. Here is what I know as yet. In the Gulf region, counrties that saw protests during the Arab Spring were mainly Bahrain, and Oman. However, Bahrain is the country where Benyamin lived, until he returned to his native state of Kerala in 2013, two years after the revolution. The 'City' though might not resemble any city in particular, and be a mix of multiple places in Bahrain.