"Mom, you have to read it."
In1947,
India, regains independence from British rule. It is separated into two
countries - Pakistan and India. The divide creates huge tension between Hindus
and Muslims, and hundreds of thousands are killed crossing borders.
Nisha,
the main character, twelve-year-old girl, half-Muslim and half-Hindu, doesn't
know where she belongs anymore. But when her family is no longer safe in their
home in the city of Mirpur Khas (which became part of Pakistan), they set out
for “the new India. Nisha and her family become refugees and embark first on foot but later by
train to reach their new home. The journey is long,
difficult, and dangerous, and after losing her mother as a baby, Nisha can't
imagine losing her homeland, brother, grandmother or father too. But even if
her country has been ripped apart, Nisha still believes in the possibility of
putting herself back together.
The story is told through Nisha's letters to her mother written at the night time. The
diary format gives the story striking intimacy and immediacy, serving as a
window into a fraught historical partition of India.
To
learn more
veerahiranandani.com
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