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95 reviews for:
Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory
Aanchal Malhotra
4.51 AVERAGE
95 reviews for:
Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory
Aanchal Malhotra
4.51 AVERAGE
Firstly, I'm slow when it comes to non-fiction. This book, in my opinion, made for lengthy reading. It is definitely unique and some of the stories tugged at my heartstrings, especially "The Pearls of Azra Haq." Malhotra writes lucidly and never did I find myself struggling to make sense of her narration. She has worked hard to highlight a few among several personal histories born out of this cataclysmic event - the partition of India - which are at risk of getting extinct with the last generation that witnessed this mass bloody exodus from both countries.
My only critique of this book would be the lack of intersectionality across these stories. Almost all the interviewees belonged to wealthy, upper-class/caste families that could afford cars and foreign education in those times, or those of aristocratic lineage. My intention isn't to undermine their struggles or trauma but to highlight that their privilege did come in handy whilst escaping the clutches of communal violence and brutality. That they could cling onto something tangible and reminisce about their homeland is a reminder of their privilege. What about those who lost their families, or got orphaned or had to deal with lasting effects of their trauma for a long time? Perhaps I was looking for something grittier. Perhaps material memory is a privilege in itself.
My only critique of this book would be the lack of intersectionality across these stories. Almost all the interviewees belonged to wealthy, upper-class/caste families that could afford cars and foreign education in those times, or those of aristocratic lineage. My intention isn't to undermine their struggles or trauma but to highlight that their privilege did come in handy whilst escaping the clutches of communal violence and brutality. That they could cling onto something tangible and reminisce about their homeland is a reminder of their privilege. What about those who lost their families, or got orphaned or had to deal with lasting effects of their trauma for a long time? Perhaps I was looking for something grittier. Perhaps material memory is a privilege in itself.
There are books that feel good even before you've read them. The premise might be alluring, the print and the illustrations might be inviting, or the cover art might be inordinately beautiful. Aanchal Malhotra's Remnants of a Separation has all of these three, and more.
Remnants of a Separation is a unique narrative on the partition of India. The stories bring the gruesome and uncertain nature of the events to light in a form that lends a very human feel to partition. They terrorize, overwhelm, amuse and often reveal how despite the artificial boundaries of religion or nation, human beings continue to retain a love for their roots. The book not only paints a vivid picture of human resilience in the face of the worst of atrocities but also of vulnerability to painful memories embedded deep into one's soul even when on the surface things seem to have healed.
“Memory dilutes, but the object remains unaltered.”
_________________________________________________
The detailed review for this book can be found at https://sumitbhagat.substack.com/ , where I regularly write about books, long-forms & stuff from around the web in the form of a short (<5 min), fortnightly e-mail newsletter. Please do subscribe if you like.
Remnants of a Separation is a unique narrative on the partition of India. The stories bring the gruesome and uncertain nature of the events to light in a form that lends a very human feel to partition. They terrorize, overwhelm, amuse and often reveal how despite the artificial boundaries of religion or nation, human beings continue to retain a love for their roots. The book not only paints a vivid picture of human resilience in the face of the worst of atrocities but also of vulnerability to painful memories embedded deep into one's soul even when on the surface things seem to have healed.
“Memory dilutes, but the object remains unaltered.”
_________________________________________________
The detailed review for this book can be found at https://sumitbhagat.substack.com/ , where I regularly write about books, long-forms & stuff from around the web in the form of a short (<5 min), fortnightly e-mail newsletter. Please do subscribe if you like.
TRIGGER WARNING: This book contains mentions of death, violence, murder, rape, etc. Read at your own risk.
The Remnants of a Separation has a simple objective – to pass on the memories of the Partition to the next generation(s) who are so far removed from it that is seems to be fiction. That’s how it was for me anyway. The “batwara” was just something we studied in school. The atrocities, a dream committed in another lifetime. But what never struck me until I read this book was that there are still people alive who have the the voices, the memories, and the pain from the Partition. Like a deep gash, never fully healing, never disappearing. This book helped me bring to life a reality, that the Partition happened and so many hundreds of thousands of people went through something horrible. A whole lifetime’s worth of horrible.
Aanchal Malhotra perfectly describes the actions of the people as and when required. We see their attachment to their possession. We hear and feel their longing for their homeland. In a few instances, we see people completely detached from their soil, their “mitti”, never wanting to go back. And she doesn’t stop here. No, her Instagram profile boasts many objects related to the Partition. Scroll through the comments, and you’ll find someone asking what to do about this one object they have from so-and-so time and from a seemingly far-away land. Someone else is sharing their experiences with people who endured their own form of horrors in, and after 1947.
A few stories display powerful women in their own right which I loved. Prof. Sat Pal Kohli’s mother, who was a female moneylender. Azra Haq, who craved her own life, was a part of the WACI and felt like she belonged in the army. Prabhjot Kaur, Preet Singh, and so many countless, countless women who survived what it, to us, unimaginable.
I have the paperback edition which is revised and updated. It has two extra stories, it seems, called “Between This Side and That: The Sword of Ajit Kaur Kapoor” and, “Passage to Freedom: The Wordly Trunk of Uma Sondhi Ahmad”. I have to say the former (which was the 20th story in my edition) was much, much darker than I expected. It’s been a few days since I finished the book, and I still remember reading certain things and I don’t think I will be able to forget them anytime soon.
I would include a trigger warning as I did in the beginning as there are mentions of death, murder, violence, rape, etc. Other than that, there is nothing that holds me back from loving this book wholeheartedly. Thank you Ms. Malhotra, for this masterpiece.
The Remnants of a Separation has a simple objective – to pass on the memories of the Partition to the next generation(s) who are so far removed from it that is seems to be fiction. That’s how it was for me anyway. The “batwara” was just something we studied in school. The atrocities, a dream committed in another lifetime. But what never struck me until I read this book was that there are still people alive who have the the voices, the memories, and the pain from the Partition. Like a deep gash, never fully healing, never disappearing. This book helped me bring to life a reality, that the Partition happened and so many hundreds of thousands of people went through something horrible. A whole lifetime’s worth of horrible.
Aanchal Malhotra perfectly describes the actions of the people as and when required. We see their attachment to their possession. We hear and feel their longing for their homeland. In a few instances, we see people completely detached from their soil, their “mitti”, never wanting to go back. And she doesn’t stop here. No, her Instagram profile boasts many objects related to the Partition. Scroll through the comments, and you’ll find someone asking what to do about this one object they have from so-and-so time and from a seemingly far-away land. Someone else is sharing their experiences with people who endured their own form of horrors in, and after 1947.
A few stories display powerful women in their own right which I loved. Prof. Sat Pal Kohli’s mother, who was a female moneylender. Azra Haq, who craved her own life, was a part of the WACI and felt like she belonged in the army. Prabhjot Kaur, Preet Singh, and so many countless, countless women who survived what it, to us, unimaginable.
I have the paperback edition which is revised and updated. It has two extra stories, it seems, called “Between This Side and That: The Sword of Ajit Kaur Kapoor” and, “Passage to Freedom: The Wordly Trunk of Uma Sondhi Ahmad”. I have to say the former (which was the 20th story in my edition) was much, much darker than I expected. It’s been a few days since I finished the book, and I still remember reading certain things and I don’t think I will be able to forget them anytime soon.
I would include a trigger warning as I did in the beginning as there are mentions of death, murder, violence, rape, etc. Other than that, there is nothing that holds me back from loving this book wholeheartedly. Thank you Ms. Malhotra, for this masterpiece.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
emotional
informative
slow-paced
challenging
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
I had first gotten introduced to Aanchal Malhotra in her contribution to "Our Freedoms" anthology on the underground Congress Radio and a brave Usha Mehta. It was her measured writing style that made me probe deeper into her other works. Without thinking too much, I bought "The Remnants of Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory". On seeing the physical copy, two things struck me. One, an old lady with her white hair neatly parted in the middle wearing a gold maang-tikka with ruby, garnet, pearl and diamond - stones native and unique to the North-West Frontier Province. Two, the gorgeous blue that seems to subtly spark. A book that attempts to tell the history of the partition through material memory could only have been written well by someone with infinite interest in curation and has sharp eyes for detail.
This book contains 21 stories and many objects, but typically one focal object that functions like a key to untapping some memories that take backseat as time passes, the more intimate ones - a people's history. Among other objects that one gets to meet are many heirlooms, pearls from a Maharaja, and a stone plaque from a house that stands no more.
It is easy to dismiss that the book hinges on emotions and not eruditions, but to me, this form felt more accessible, palpable, and non-bureaucratic. It is also true that one cannot seek to understand all that happened through objects alone, and Aanchal acknowledges that when she sees its limitations. In one of the chapters where her search for a tangible object was met with 'nothing' because the speaker's house in Delhi had been destroyed entirely, she says, "I felt small and insignificant for obsessing over the tangible. Though the purpose I had come for hadn’t been fulfilled, I found myself feeling fuller, more satisfied." As her primary interviewees are typically old, she also accounts for the limitations of memory and remembrance. Typically, the story is told as a collective memory from inter-generational points of views, with one filling for the other and the like, and that's only telling of the way memory itself works.
Although these are 21 independent stories, the narration and observations are cohesive. At the heart of the narration lies a contradiction, where in most parts Aanchal's voice and observations seem to be the primary optic; then there are the speakers and their family members forming a secondary optic; and the objects that should ideally be at the forefront of the narration are relegated to the third layer of narration. However, this does not challenge the excitement of knowing the history of the partition through material memory, for these very objects are often assigned no special value or have been assigned a new 'use'. What must be appreciated is the ability of material memory to transform itself from its unvarying lives in the dusty shelves or its assigned new use, to an object that had seen people, places and events.
This book does a great job of focusing on the partition from a microscopic level. Focusing on the actual people and families who were affected. Plus, very readable!!
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Actual Rating 4.5 Stars
Disclaimer: A Huge Thanks to Harper Collins India for providing a review copy of this wonderful book. But the thought, opinions and feelings expressed in the review are entirely my own!
To say that I am writing a review for this book would be sacrilegious – not only is this book filled with emotions of real human beings; but it is also a reflection of a time that I consider to be one of the defining moments for both India and Pakistan’s history!
It was never an easy time learning about this bloody time in my country’s history – and it became all the more difficult reading this book; for I had lost my Grandfather two years back; a man who became the head of his family just before Independence and who has been a source of pride and inspiration for me.
Reading these memories, I understood now (like I hadn’t understood before) how difficult it would have been for my Grandpa to share his experience – and he only shared it once. A time that I cherish because it was his and mine; a time that I understood how far along he had come, not only him but how far along he had bought his family.
This is an emotional book to read – the memories tell me, as a young Indian, how important it is to hold on to my history, to my country’s struggles; to my country’s struggle for the future it so desperately needs.
"History isn’t history if it doesn’t teach you the path to the Future."
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