Stalingrad , by Antony Beevor ,
the book I just finished a mere 2 minutes ago , takes us through the perilous journey of choosing between wrong , the right & facing the fate .
The snow drops on Volga , the perpetuality of the impassive steppe , the meadows on the balkans , the hardened earth on the unknown lands , & the war cries reverberates the irony of the time , the fate and perennial existence of egos !
As I note from the book and I am gonna remember this for my life
“desperate about life , angered about death & bitter about me”
– I would say this quote from this master piece (via a letter from a soldier) will trudge through the test of the time , consequences & face of the fate !!
I pen down this snippet as an ode to excellent though melancholic description of what happened on those fateful times in arguably one of the greatest battles human kind ever experienced , the world war II , the battle which touched and changed lives of every human being on earth – shaped the geopolitics what we living under now .
Squalor and Splendor – where the meanings of opposites diminished on one of those dreadful testaments of destiny , despair and disdain .
Perseverance showed on both the sides the defenders and the crushers , steel worthy determination and where survival of any flesh & blood dint matter to a miniscule of a empathy : what mattered is orders and the flags ! Bewildering was the unfathomable distance between peace and the time !
Loafs & breads were equal to a sliver pocket watch for a barter on a rubble which was once called the empire on the mighty Volga ! The beauty of time is that it changes and it did . And it did for whatsoever reason , may be its the Russian cold , the planning , the time , whatever it may be , more importantly it changed the course the world would take because of the outcome !!
Go ahead , grab a corner , sip a hot black coffee and don’t let the time hinder you and experience a stirring tale on the edge of Asia – don’t miss this gold dust , the memoir and memories – this mammoth piece is called STALINGRAD !
Nevertheless , read it to know “the valor on the mighty Volgas ” !!
Note : Stalingrad is now called Volvograd !