ice-candy man

by Bapsi Sidhwa

Ice-Candy Man

Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

Bapsi Sidhwa was a Pakistani novelist who wrote in English and was resident in the United States.
She was best known for her collaborative work with Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta: Sidhwa wrote both the 1991 novel Ice Candy Man which served as the basis for Mehta's 1998 film Earth as well as the 2006 novel Water: A Novel, on which Mehta's 2005 film Water is based. A documentary about Sidhwa's life called "Bapsi: Silences of My Life" was released on the official YouTube channel of " The Citizens Archive of Pakistan" on 28 October 2022 with the title " First Generation -Stories of partition: Bapsi Sidhwa".

Reviews

[Hasnat Jahangir · Rating 4 out of 5]

The moment i picked this book up i knew it would be special. And special it was. Not just the fact that it’s set in and around my neighbourhood (jailroad, waris road, old lahore) making it feel like this book belongs to me like i was there, at the time of partition. The horrors, the sorrow, the wittiness, the twisted humour, a must read book for multiple reasons.

[Habiba Burki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have heard a lot of Sidhwa and her writing and as a Pakistani, where the partition of 1947 is a indirect part of my life, this is a great read. Her ability to write from the perspective of a child, whose wanting to live life yet is alarmingly aware of the world the adults live in is amazing.

[M. Awais]

I have recently read a novel Ice candy Man written by a Pakistani novelist Bapsi sidhwa. It is an attention seeker novel. The writer has done brilliant art of characterization in it. The characters are shown as the representation of different religions living in a community.
Bapsi Sidhwa, being a Parsee, always raised voice for her community. Many of her novels have Parsee protagonists including ice candy man, an American brat and the crow eaters etc. in ice candy man; she has shown the struggle of pareses living as a minority. Minorities always have to follow the rules made by majorities. This Parsee family also live accordingly. They have relations with Muslim, Sikhs, Hindus as well as British. The protagonist of this novel is a child who has polio. She observes each and every thing in her surroundings. Even she has argued her mother that everyone around says Parsees are bum lickers of British.
The complex character of ice candy man and his impact on those around him is one of the most fascinating aspects of the novel. Sidhwa expertly captures the tension and conflict of a time when India was on the brink of change. Ice Candy Man is a must-read for anyone interested in historical fiction or literature from South Asia.
Argument 1:
I agree with the fact that minority have to live according to the majorities. But this is not bum licking. This is their need. They are less in numbers thus they don’t have enough facilities to live openly. They don’t have large number of their temple or a place to pray like temples of Hindus or mosques. Muslims in Pakistan and Hindus in India are in large number. So they have their places at every corner of alleys. But due to less number in minorities, they don’t have any. There are rarely 2 to 3 places in a city for them.
They perform different occasions like Eid, Dewali, and Holi and so on. They are living in the environment where they have to interact with other communities for their existence. Man is a social animal. He has to communicate with everyone. He has to take care of the things which other do. They have to support others to get support. If a minority is having the facilities of life by following the majority, it does not mean they are there slaves. But it is their way of living a luxurious life. If Parsee families go against British, then they can suffer as Muslims and Hindus did. They follow their life style, dressing, entrepreneurship, and make them happy by different gifts for an easy living.
Argument 2:
The other thing which the novel depicts is partition. It is all about before and after partition of subcontinent. Sidhwa is an eye witness of partition. The girl in the novel is autobiographic character of Sidhwa. Sidhwa has seen all these things herself. The way in which she has given the account of partition gives Goosebumps to me. Hindus have murdered many Muslims. Muslims have also done the same. They also murdered many Hindus while migration. This partition has given a very strong impact on the minds of characters. Ice candy man’s whole family is killed while migration. He is so much frustrated that when Muslims in India has burnt some places, everyone is crying for help, and then he becomes a selfish man. He is happy by seeing their cry. He doesn’t even try to help them as he wants his family’s revenge. He even does not left his own lover. She was a Hindu and dumped him because of another man. He, with other Muslims, sent her to an unknown place like brothel or murdered her. It is not clear but the main thing is that he does not even consider his love due to the frustration of partition. The character of Parsee girl is also influenced by surroundings. She started t like the character of Ice Candy Man but when she has realized that he is changing due to partition and its affect, she also become startle from him. She is not accepting the reaction of him regarding punishing Ayah as somewhere she has made him as her ideal.
Conclusion:
Overall the novel is fabulous. It shows each and every detail of the events. Sidhwa raises voice for Parsees, women as well as colonized in her work. She has targeted the Parsee family as her main characters but through them she wants to show the condition of subalterns present in subcontinent. It is a historical novel which helps to seek the identity and individuality of colonized people. Ice candy man is a complex and multi-layered story that explores the themes of identity, religion, and politics in a time of great upheaval. Sidhwa’s writing is beautiful and evocative, and her characters are richly drawn and deeply human. Ice Candy Man is a powerful and moving novel that will stay with readers long after they have finished it.
The complex character of ice candy man and his impact on those around him is one of the most fascinating aspects of the novel. Sidhwa expertly captures the tension and conflict of a time when India was on the brink of change. Ice Candy Man is a must-read for anyone interested in historical fiction or literature from South Asia.

Muhammad Awais

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ice-Candy Man (Cracking India) was my first Bapsi Sidhwa novel that I picked up on a friend’s recommendation. The book is set in pre-partition Lahore and is narrated by Lenny, a Parsi girl; providing a fresh perspective to the partition through the eyes of a Parsi child; who’s crippled due to polio. The story revolves around Lenny and her 18-year-old Hindu ayah Shanta who has hordes of admirers one of them being the ice candy man.
There are several characters in the book all from different walks of life and religious backgrounds such as the Masseur, Papoo, Imam-Din, Ranna, Hamida, and Hari who have their lives upended due to the partition. The book was beautiful, tragic, and endearing. I found myself crying for Shanta, Papoo, Hamida, and Ranna. The ending was bittersweet and devastating at the same time as it depicted in many ways the reality of partition and how it affected the people of South Asia, especially the women.
Bapsi Sidhwa is a phenomenal storyteller, I was transported back to the world of little Lenny as I could vividly picture the story as it was narrated. 5/5

[Leslie Levine Adler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping story told from a child’s point of view about the Partition of Pakistan and India. It is original, humorous, and exquisitely sad. It is so relevant in terms of the degradation due to ethnic and religious differences. Very strong portrayal of women. This story will stay with me always, especially the chapter narrated from underneath the dining room table eavesdropping on the adults.