"And Quiet Flows the Don". Mikhail Sholokhov. Best Novel of World based on true Love and Struggle Story

And Quiet Flows the Don by Mikhail Sholokhov. And Quiet Flows the Don, or “The Silent Don”, is a novel in four volumes written by famous Russian novelist and writer Mikhail Sholokhov. The first three volumes were written from 1925 to 1932 and published in the Soviet magazine Oktyabr in 1928–1932, and the fourth volume was completed in 1940. The novel is recognized one of the most momentous works of world and Russian literature in the 20th century. It depicts the lives and struggles of Don Cossacks during the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and Russian Civil War. The important place of novel in the world of literature is evident that the author Mr. Sholokhov was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for this novel in 1965 and Stalin Prize. The novel has been compared to War and Peace, written by Leo Tolstoy, notably by Maxim Gorky. Like the Tolstoy novel, ‘And Quiet Flows the Don’ is an epic picture of Russian life during a time of crisis and examines it through political, military, romantic, and civilian lenses. The novel deals with the life of a personality the Cossacks, Russian Kazak labeled as adventurer or free man, living in the Don River valley in the northern hinterland of Black and Caspian seas area in Russia in 1912, just prior to World War I. The plot revolves around the Melekhov family of Tatarsk, who are descendants of a Cossack who, to the horror of many, took a Turkish captive as a wife during the Crimean War. She was accused of witchcraft by Melekhov's superstitious neighbors, who even attempted to kill her but saved by her husband. Their descendants, the son and grandsons, became the central character of the story. They were called Turks. These people command a profound respect in Tatarsk. The second eldest son, Grigory Panteleevich Melekhov, was a talented young soldier who falls in love with Aksinia, the wife of a person named Stepan Astakhov, a family friend. Stepan, Aksinia’s husband usually maltreated and beats her and there relationship was not good. Naturally, the adverse conditions and inappropriate treatment forced Aksinia to seek sigh of relief somewhere else. This developed sympathy and love relations between them. Grigory and Aksinia's love affair and elopement raise an enmity between two families. The story revolves round eternal triangle and the impending World Wars and Civil Wars in which young Cossack clan. That was bloodiest wars in Russian history. The story spread to the Austro-Hungarian front, where Grigory saved the life of Stepan. Grigory under compulsion married Natalya but internally loves Aksina. Grigory took part in the Russian Civil War. Many of his kith and kin and friends were killed. His wife Natalya died and left two small children. These children were looked after and nurtured by Aksinia due to the eternal feeling of love and sympathy. Unfortunately she was killed by a stray bullet during a fight with Red troops. It was a bolt from the blue to Grigory who buried his beloved. He became despondent of his future life. The novel deals not only with the valiant struggles and suffering of the Cossacks clan. The novel revealed the beautiful landscape of area. This is similar stories found every where in the world where people falls in love with some one else. The feeling of love is natural and does not care for repercussions. Majority of people are killed in the name of Honour Killing and feud prolonged for centuries. This type of stories is replete in majority of countries even in present era especially in Asia. Professor Qayum Mangi, CSS Academy Sukkur.