I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale

Khushwant Singh

RaviDayal Publisher, 2004 - India - 280 pages

I Shall Not Hear The Nightingale, Khushwant Singh'S Second Novel, Is Set In Amritsar During The Height Of India'S Freedom Movement, When Nationalists Called Upon The British To `Quit India'. Sardar Buta Singh, First Class Magistrate, A Man Whose Family Is Known For Its Loyalty To The Raj, Is Close To Being Nominated To The Queen'S Honours List That Year. However, Unknown To Him, His Son Sher Singh Has Become The Leader Of A Group Of Gun-Wielding, Anti-British Revolutionaries. When The Headman Of A Nearby Village, A Police Informer, Goes Missing, Sher Singh Is Arrested. If Proved Guilty Of Treason He Could Be Sentenced To Death. A Disgraced Buta Singh Disowns His Son In Order To Show His Continuing Loyalty To The Government, And His God-Fearing Wife Sabhrai Turns To The Guru For Guidance. The Kindly Deputy Commissioner, John Taylor, An Englishman Who Is Sympathetic To Indians And Understands The Family'S Predicament, Offers Them Two Alternatives: Sher Singh Can Either Betray His Comrades And Save His Life Or Else Be Hanged.

Meanwhile, In Simla, Sher Singh'S Wife And Sister Are Involved In A Parallel Drama Of Their Own With Madan, A Revolutionary And A Rake.

I Shall Not Hear The Nightingale Has Been Widely Acclaimed As Khushwant Singh'S Finest Novel.

Contents

• Section 1: 1
• Section 2: 62
• Section 3: 90

About the author

Khushwant Singh was born on February 2, 1915 in the village of Hadali in what is now the Punjab province of Pakistan. He attended St. Stephen's College in Delhi, Government College in Lahore, and King's College London. In 1947, he worked for India's ministry of external affairs and served as press officer in Ottawa and London. From 1980 to 1986, he was a member of the upper house of the Indian parliament. He was an author and journalist. His newspaper column, With Malice Towards One and All, was syndicated all over India. During his lifetime, he wrote more than 100 novels and short-story collections including Train to Pakistan, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale, Delhi: A Novel, The Company of Women, and The Sunset Club. He also wrote a two-volume History of the Sikhs, an autobiography entitled Truth, Love and a Little Malice, and a book of biographical profiles entitled The Good, the Bad and the Ridiculous. He died on March 20, 2014 at the age of 99.

Bibliographic information

• Title: I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale
• Author: Khushwant Singh
• Edition: reprint
• Publisher: RaviDayal Publisher, 2004
• ISBN: 0670058149, 9780670058143
• Length: 280 pages