Sonal Singh On Sonal's Table
Related Articles
Book – Hiraeth, partition stories from 1947
Author – Dr Shivani Salil Publisher – Room9 publications
Price – ₹ 285/- pages – 159
Purchase link – https://www.amazon.in/Hiraeth-Partition-Stories-from-1947/dp/8194132622/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1566822949&sr=8-3
Ever tried pouring fragrant chamomile tea into a dainty bone china cup, only to have it overflow the rim and pool in the saucer? What did you do then? I bet you picked up the cup but drank from the saucer first!
Well, that is what #HIRAETH felt like.
HIRAETH is neither a book nor a compilation of short stories. NO! HIRAETH is a river of emotions that gently flows into the crevices of your heart. It seeps in through the open pores of your skin and it envelopes you like a gossamer veil. It stays with you like a haunting melody that keeps niggling. It is an avalanche of warmth that cascades down to deluge you.
The partition of 1947 was probably the most painful thing that the people of the Indian subcontinent faced. The forces of partition rose up like a malevolent storm and whipped across the land. When they quietened – one land, one home and one people; lay split into two. This book chronicles the pain of such families. It tells the stories of such unknown heroes who by virtue of their pain became unforgettable. Dr Shivani Salil made them memorable via her book.
If you intend to pick this book up to read in passing, then I suggest you do not. That is not the way to read it. You cannot just pick up a volume of it and read it like a novel.
NO!
Like I mentioned above, HIRAETH is a brimming cup of fragrant tea that you have to enjoy with your inner senses. Just like you would close your eyes to take a whiff of the calming aroma of chamomile, HIRAETH should be enjoyed in solitude. Pick this up as a companion on a particularly long flight. Treat it as a duvet to wrap yourself with on a lonely night. Or, just sink into it but, savor it for every story here is the tale of a family. It is inspired by their struggle and the least we can do is honor them by reading the book in the spirit in which it is penned.
There are some lines of this book that shall forever stay with me. I reproduce them here.
- Page 5 (story title alfaaz) – //She could only utter one word, “Veer ji…,” before she dissolved into tears. A long silence later came a cautious voice from the other side, “Shanno…”
- Page 13 (story title Beaaz) – //morning turned to late afternoon when finally, the two tired men staggered back. As the grown-ups exchanged glances, kartar’s eyes fell on a familiar book that Bauji was clutching hard.//
- Page 41 (story title Hireath) – //There was a nip in the air signaling that winter was knocking their doors – except that there were no doors now.//
I could continue because there are many such sentences littered throughout the book that touched me deeply. But, I believe this is a book that everyone must read by themselves. They must interpret the roiling emotions that this arouses on their own and finally emerge changed for the better.
All I can say is – Shivani Salil, thank you for writing this.
