Book revisits Partition through objects refugees carried

A new book attempts to revisit the Partition of India through objects that refugees carried with them across the border.
"Remnants of a Separation: A History of the Partition through Material Memory" by city-based artist and oral historian Aanchal Malhotra is billed by publishers HarperCollins India as the first and only study of the Partition through material memory.
The publication will coincide with the 70th anniversary of the Partition and independence in August.
"The premise of 'Remnants of a Separation' is that we surround ourselves with things and put in them parts of ourselves. Over time, these objects become repositories of emotions and memories. They transport us back in time and connect us to our private and collective histories.

"In telling the stories of the objects that people took with them at the time of the Partition, Malhotra explores the notion that these objects have withstood the ravages of the last 70 years in a way that memories, which can often be unreliable, may not have," the publishers said.
The author sees the objects as portals into the experiences of the people they belong to and their private histories of the Partition, and weaves together a unique account of an event that shaped the subcontinent in the 20th century.

Says Malhotra, "By unfolding the memories woven within objects, this book tries to arrive at a deeper understanding of the personal narratives around the Partition. And though the object remains at the centre, what emerges through such storytelling is the way of life in a syncretic undivided India.

"Decades later, can an old lock carried from Multan to Delhi narrate a story of a home across the border? Can a maang-tikka carried from NWFP to Meerut, hidden within a woman's clothes as she fled the riots, tell us of the penury she felt as a refugee? Can a photograph from 1947 of the Hockey Club at Aligarh Muslim University carried to Lahore speak to us about bonds of friendship? 'Remnants of a Separation' is an endeavour to understand and explore this notion of belonging through belongings."
According to Siddhesh Inamdar, Commissioning Editor at HarperCollins India, "What sets this book apart is that it is written by someone of today's generation in a voice that it can relate to, and that she revisits the Partition not just through others' memories but through the memory of tangible objects. This is a work of rare passion and years of research that makes the Partition relevant and accessible for all of us again.