Love Across the Salt Desert short story by Keki N. Daruwalla

This blog is a part of my Bachelor of Arts syllabus, as we are preparing our Digital Portfolio. We are all tasked with writing blogs on the literary works we have studied.

Love Across the Salt Desert 

"Love Across the Salt Desert" by Keki N. Daruwalla is a captivating short story that delves into the themes of love, sacrifice, and societal barriers. Set against the backdrop of the vast and unforgiving Rann of Kutch, the story follows the journey of Lakhman and Gauri, two young individuals from neighboring villages who find themselves bound together by an extraordinary love that transcends cultural norms and geographical boundaries. As their romance blossoms amidst the stark beauty of the desert landscape, Lakhman and Gauri must confront the prejudices and obstacles that threaten to tear them apart. Through Daruwalla's poignant storytelling and vivid imagery, "Love Across the Salt Desert" invites readers on a journey of discovery and exploration, exploring the timeless themes of human connection, resilience, and the transformative power of love.

About Author 

Keki N. Daruwalla, born on January 15, 1937, in Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan), is a prominent Indian author, poet, and retired Indian Police Service officer. Daruwalla is celebrated for his insightful storytelling, evocative poetry, and vivid portrayal of Indian life, culture, and history.

After completing his education in English literature, Daruwalla joined the Indian Police Service in 1958 and served in various capacities before retiring as Deputy Inspector General of Police. Throughout his career in law enforcement, Daruwalla continued to pursue his passion for writing, producing a diverse body of work that reflects his deep engagement with the social, political, and cultural landscape of India.

Daruwalla's literary oeuvre encompasses a wide range of genres, including poetry, short stories, novels, and essays. His writing is characterized by its lyrical language, rich imagery, and keen observations of human nature. Daruwalla's work often explores themes of identity, memory, displacement, and the complexities of modern Indian society.

As a poet, Daruwalla has received critical acclaim for his collections, which include "Under Orion" (1970), "Landscapes" (1976), and "Crossing of Rivers" (1976). His poetry is marked by its ability to evoke a sense of place and time, capturing the essence of India's diverse landscapes and cultural traditions.

In addition to his poetry, Daruwalla is also known for his short stories, many of which have been anthologized and adapted for radio and television. His short story "Love Across the Salt Desert" is widely regarded as a modern classic and has earned him widespread recognition for its poignant portrayal of love and sacrifice.

Throughout his illustrious career, Daruwalla has received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to literature, including the Sahitya Akademi Award, the Commonwealth Poetry Prize, and the Padma Shri, one of India's highest civilian honors. His work continues to inspire readers and writers alike, cementing his place as one of India's most respected and influential literary figures.

Summary of Short Story

Love Across the Salt Desert Keki N.Daruwalla’s “Love Across the Salt Desert” is a love story based on the theme that true love transcends all barriers like Religion, Region, cast, colour and creed. It depicts union between two lovers despite their hailing from two opposite sides of the International border between India and Pakistan--- two hostile countries. 

The story bears its title not only because of the fact that sole and main avenue of the entire dramatic action is the Thar or Kuchh desert, known for its salt lagoon, but also for other reasons like its being the hottest desert in the subcontinent and as such not so easy to cross unaided, its being devoid of water bodies; its being chequered by mirages and also because of its being guarded by Pak rangers on one side and BSF personnel from their watch towers from the other side. Needless to mention that “Salt” is a symbol standing for harsh and inhospitable nature. 

Najab, a reticent and diffident budding youth from Khavda, Runn of Kutchh is captivated by the peerless and bewitching beauty of Fatima ( a clove seller’s daughter from Sindh, the Pakistani side of desert referred to as “Hoor” and elopes with Najab. None of the lovers spare even a moment’s thought to petty considerations like Nationality, linguistic barrier, Parental permission etc. They are not even deterred by the danger of crossing the inhospitable and dangerous desert unaided illegally. To start with, Najab is introduced as a diffident, strangely introverted youth with dreamy eyes notorious for blushing even at the mere mention of a girl. 

Despite his being only 20 years of age, he had trudged across the desert with his father Aftab—a smuggler— four times and knew everything about the desert and was confident enough of crossing the desert alone if so needed. Fatima — a paragon of beauty, the daughter of Pakistani clove seller, a witty old smuggler — being under pressure of marrying Mehfooz Ali — a far off relative with extreme slurred speech, was taken by innocent and all smiling face of the young Najab who had come to stay at her house during his fourth illegal trip across the desert. 

Having failed to illicit even a word from Najab in the morning, she did receive positive response from him in the evening thus brings about a sea change in his personality. Najab, after falling in love with Fatima, turned out to be a “ Dare Devil” as for his return to Khavda, he shipped away alone with his camel Allahrakha determining to bring back Fatima as his mother’s daughter –in-law. He braved all the perils and dangers during his desert odyssey. 

His daring was crowned with success when he finally stepped on to the Khavdan soil with Fatima bringing in torrential rains which ended three years of death dealing drought and thus bringing relief and new lease of life to Khavdans’ who in return welcomed Fatima with open arms as a bringer of joy to them. Character sketch of Fatima Fatima is the heroine of Keki N.Daruwalla’s “Love Across the Salt Desert”. She is referred to as “ Hoor” a paragon of heavenly beauty promised to the faithful by Allah to be their life partners in Paradise after their succeeding in presenting their true accounts to their Maker on the Day of Judgement. 

She is bestowed with such a captivating beauty as to be able to drag Najab- a lifelong reticent, shy and diffident youth off his stand and hold her in a tight embrace for quite a while. She is the only daughter of the wily old clove seller and smuggler of Sindh. 

Having lost her mother quite early, she manages the domesticity quite appreciably. She is under a lot of pressure from Kaley Shah to marry Mehfoz Ali – a far off relative from her mother’s side—a proposal she abhors as Mehfoz Ali is notorious for his slurred speech and grotesque stammer so much so that urchin’s mimic him and get ready to hound him like a madcap. 

Fatima falls in love with Najab at the first sight and it is so profound and strong that she gets ready to abandon her father, her country and everything else and run away with Najab—another far off relative from her mother’s side hailing from Indian part of the desert. 

Fatima’s stepping on to the soil of Khavda is taken as ominous by Khavdan’s as torrential rains pour down the moment she steps in, thus ending three long years of death dealing drought.

Thank you so much for reading this blog.