BOOKSin review
A
Neerie calmdescen-
dedon the Indiansub-
continent in 1947. A
millionvoices, of Hindus,
Muslimsand Sikhs,were
silencedforever.Hatred
wasthe pulseof the times.
Never mind Mahatma
Gandhi, Noakhaliwas a
reality.Lahoreand Ludhi-
anaweretornasunder.
As trains arrivedin
Delhior Lahore, all that
thebystanders could do
wasto count the casualties.
Theliving,devastatedand
brutalised, were all but
dead.Bloodandgriefran
through the streets of
DelhiandRawalpindi.
So profound wasthe
grief,so overwhelmingthe
silentsorrowofthe hu-
manityon eithersideof the
border,thattheImperial
cinemahallin Delhi,which
revelledinplayingthe best
of HollywoodandMuslim
socialdramasuntilInde-
pendence, closed that
chapterof its professional
engagement. Surrounded
by refugeesfromthenew
stateof Pakistanandbeing
adailywitnessto train-
loadsof blood-soakedbod-
ies in the immediate
aftermathof Partition, the
Imperialcinemahallde-
cided to speak the lan-
guageof therefugees.In
birthplace, Dina,nowin
Pakistan,almost60 years
afterhe lefttheplaceas a
child. Much like former
PrimeMinisterI.K.Gujral
and thenoted journalist
KuldipNayar.Theyhadall
sufferedor heardtalesof
untoldsufferingrelatedin
hushedwhispers on longwinter nights at homes.
The sorrow of Partition
andthe storiesof displace-
ment and dispossession
were like family secrets.
Eachwashiddenfromthe
public eye,yeteachwas
similarto the other.
The noted journalist
KavitaPuristumbled upon
onesuchstory.It wasa
storyher fatherhadkeptto
himselffor 70 years.Then,
onedayin 2016,it tumbled
out.Theresult?Partition
Voices,anevocativebook
thatleavesyoubreathless
withits human predica-
mentandgives voice to
storieslongheldprisoner
to silence.
It is adifferentpath
that Kavita Puri charts.
Notfor herthestoriesof
horror from therefugee
camps in Delhi.Instead,
she digsup the storiesfrom
England,wheremanyIn-
diansandPakistaniswent
in searchof anew home,of
bread and butter. She
writes:“Myfatherbroke
his silenceafternearlysev-
entyyearsto speakabout
what happenedtohim
during the partition of
British India. Seventy
years.Alifetime.He never
returnedto the placeof his
birth, the place he was
forcedto leave,the placehe
alwayshopedto see again.
RaviDuttPuriwasbornin
1935 in Lahore,Punjab,in
British Colonial India.
Whenhefinallytoldme
about thethings he had
witnessedas atwelve-year-
old boy,Iunderstoodwhy
he hadkepthis silence.”
Why indeed?Simply
becausethe lossandsuffer-
ing were unimaginable.
Nearly amillion people
werekilled.Nearly 10 mil-
lion weredisplaced.cameHindu mythological
moviesandPunjabidra-
mas.Cinemacouldat least
pretendto heal.
Slowly,the community
recovered its voice.Butit
took alongtime. Long
enoughfor theillustrious
poetGulzarto turnmoist-
eyedwhenhe reachedhisTrysts with
trauma
Engaginganddisturbingnarratives,in proseandin
verse,aboutdisplacement,dispossessionandthe
legacyof Partition.BYZIYAUSSALAM
PartitionVoices
UntoldBritish
Stories
ByKavitaPuri
Bloomsbury
Pages: 320
Price:Rs.499Silencebetween
theNotes
AnAnthologyof
PartitionPoetry
ByAftabHusain
andSarita
Jenamani
Dhauli Books
Price:Rs.395