Not Dead Yet- A Memoir
Author: Rashid Shaz
“Not Dead Yet” is more than just a memoir; it is a raw and unfiltered attempt to capture the essence of an autobiography. As you turn the pages of this book, you will encounter numerous familiar voices, and at times, it may seem as though you have an age-old connection with these characters. Suppressed and shattered voices, broken people, and disfigured lifeless bodies from which life has been stolen. These unfortunate souls don’t even comprehend what has genuinely transpired.
In the echoes of history, where the haunting specter of the Holocaust relentlessly chases the Jewish story, and the crushing weight of the Nakba engraves itself into the Palestinian collective memory, the Indian Muslims find themselves adrift in a sea of sorrow, searching for the elusive words to encapsulate the immense tragedy that has forever altered their existence.
On the surface, this is the story of one individual’s life, but the authentic days and nights of the Indian Muslims are chronicled in these memoirs in such a manner that the reader pauses and ponders why the sequence of events and hidden meanings within them have remained unknown until now. For many, this book will serve as an eye-opener. However, one inherent flaw in this narrative is its inability to assign a name to the great catastrophe faced by Indian Muslims, despite its vivid descriptions. Intriguingly, this could also be considered its strength, as until a new and fitting vocabulary emerges to narrate extraordinary events and incidents, how can the author truly capture the essence of their experiences?