The end of many dreams
Tulip Chowdhury is touched by a poignant narrative
Lara holds the story of the writer's daughter. The writer presents the character of Lara as a young woman who is simply in love with life. She is young and energetic. She works as a translator, works with an NGO and she is on her way to becoming a great pilot. Lara is full of dreams of living her life to the full. Much of the story is narrated in the first person. At times, though, Lara also narrates her story. The writer has three children. They are Muna, her other daughter, and Shomik, her son. However, the protagonist of the story is Lara. Throughout the story the mesmerizing story of Lara has the reader fall in love with her. The young woman seems to be a bubbling fountain of youth. She goes to Switzerland with her mother. And there, within a short time, she has her own friends. There is no lack of energy as she goes to different places. Lara is love with the beautiful country. The writer gives detailed descriptions of the beautiful scenic beauty of Switzerland. Lara loves to listen to her mother tell stories of her own life experiences. She always listens with rapt attention and asks hundreds of questions. The mother and daughter are like two great friends. Yet at the same time Lara would at times set a boundary to her mother's inquiries. She would blandly say that she will keep her freedom at certain matters and her mother has no right to intrude on her privacy. The writer, as a mother, respects her daughter's liberty to make choices in her life. The daughter is the loving daughter and at the same a unique individual with her own personality. And the mother is an ideal mother and at the same time recognizes that children have the right to be different individuals. zLara is like a flower, a flower that is always holding out gifts to everyone around her. She respects and loves her mother as a writer and as a mother. As mother and daughter they discuss all topics. They talk about women, politics, the war of liberation, philosophy, sex, literature, love and what not? There is also the story of sibling rivalry that seems to hold up a family picture. As the story of Lara is told, the reader also depicts a picture of a very happy family. Lara, though she seems to be a light-hearted person, demonstrates her own wisdom regarding life. Beneath her apparent buoyant self there resides a very solemn personality that holds deep insights into life. She tells her mother that she believes in the saying, "When you laugh, laugh with the world But when you cry, cry alone." This is not all. She would come up with life's philosophies as she went about her everyday life. She did all the serious work and yet there was about her a light heartedness that reminds one of a butterfly flitting along a spring day. As Lara learns flying she takes her mother for joyrides. Her mother being adventurous enjoys flying with her daughter. Lara goes to New York on an assignment and she takes her mother along. Her mother is like a soulmate to her, an inseparable friend. Both of them love travelling and so one cannot leave the other behind. Lara loves to take up challenges in life. She tries journalism because it is a challenging job. But still her heart seeks more adventure and so she becomes a pilot, craves to be the first woman instructor in the world of flying. There is in this young woman an eternal flow of life that seems to sparkle with the sunshine. She is regular in her joyrides in life as the sun itself. It is as if like the sun she too wants to fill all the days with her radiance. Alas, good things do not last! On a dark day, sadness descends on the life of this happy family. Lara, the lively young woman, meets her end. Her plane comes crashing down to earth. The very mother who has lived from day to day through the beloved daughter has to bear her death. There could be no words to describe this pain. There is lucidity in the telling of the story. The narrative takes in a small number of characters and so it is easy to follow the episodes as they unfold with Lara growing up. Though the story is beautifully told, Lara's death makes the reader hold her breath as tears come to the eyes. The reader cannot fail to love this child who is so fond of life. And with her death the world seems to stop momentarily and remind one of how cruel and unpredictable death is. Lara is an unforgettable story that reaches deep into the soul.
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