remnants of a separation by aanchal malhotra

This book is one of my favourite reads of 2017. It is an alternative history of the Partition - the first and only one told through material memory that makes the event tangible even seven decades later. A refugee certificate created in Calcutta evokes in a daughter the feelings of displacement her father had experienced upon leaving Mymensingh zila, now in Bangladesh.Written as a crossover between history and anthropology, Remnants of a Separation is the product of years of passionate research. A notebook of poems, brought from Lahore to Kalyan, shows one woman's determination to pursue the written word despite the turmoil around her.

A string of pearls gifted by a maharaja, carried from Dalhousie to Lahore, reveals the grandeur of a life that once was. They now speak of their owner's pasts as they emerge as testaments to the struggle, sacrifice, pain and belonging at an unparalleled moment in history. These belongings absorbed the memory of a time and place, remaining latent and undisturbed for generations. What I am trying to say in a lot of words is that this is a compassionately written book from a very different perspective, and you must read it.ĭisclaimer: Be prepared for some ugly crying.Remnants of a Separation is a unique attempt to revisit the Partition through objects that refugees carried with them across the border. From Gift from a Maharaja: The Pearls of Azra Haq to The Musical Solace in My Mother’s Prayers: The Guru Granth Sahib of Sumitra Kapur, introduces you to so many different types of lives women led before, during and after the partition. The 19 chapters, 19 interviews of the people from the both sides of the border, preceded by a splendid introduction will go a long way in keeping these memories alive.Ī big shout out to the book for highlighting the stories of women during partition.

The generation that witnessed the partition is dying and with it the memories of possibly the most important event in contemporary Indian history. I haven’t even made it through the introduction yet, and I am already weeping (A good book, a great film, I weep). To tell or rather re-tell the story of partition through objects that refugees brought or left behind is a fresh take, and Aanchal Malhotra has done a brilliant job at executing it. The history of partition (India-Pakistan) is nothing new to people of the subcontinent, we grew up hearing the stories of the freedom struggle and then the partition of the country that followed. Remnants of a Separation has been all over the social media for the past few months, my curiosity had already peaked. The most obvious place to go was my mother’s study that houses something around 800 books. Obviously, I needed a book to get started. I am home for the summer, and I am doing the “30 books in 30 days” challenge. “Remnants of a Separation, A history of the partition through material memory” by Aanchal Malhotra.

Remnants of a separation by aanchal malhotra