Absolutely amazing. I could not put the book down!
I really loved that it showed after-effects of the India partition from the perception of actual people going through this rather than an abstract view or that of the politicians.
It shows the harsh realities that these people were forced to endure. And I really liked how the author portrayed all the characters so realistically.
I recommend this book to anyone and everyone. Amazing read!
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Top reviews from other countries
Vedika Sawant
Loved everything about this book
Reviewed in India on November 25, 2021
Vedika Sawant
Reviewed in India on November 25, 2021
This story is so real and so amazing, it almost felt like I was witnessing it all- the streets, the smells, the home, everything. It also deals with very important themes and throws unexpected twists at you, soaked into the ink of love and neatly folded into letters that travelled through the two countries. I also loved how a few words can caress you, make you feel at ease, and give you hope. The dedication of the two lovers, their struggles, and being content with just reading the letters while imagining the voice of your significant other in your head, it just made my heart heavy with emotions. The way the story turns from one situation to another is something you cannot miss. Every character has a voice of their own even if they aren't the ones writing the letters. The development of every character is amazingly put forward.
I only found a few things a bit strange, firstly, when the characters were writing letters to each other initially, they go in extreme details about the past, which i understand is done so that the readers know the flashback properly, but in reality, i think we never write everything in a very detailed way explaining every little thing. The usage of some words in some places could've been better but that doesn't matter much because it's all very understandable and perfect too. The story really compensates for these tiny things which aren't really errors.
The little gestures shown in this book are everything! For example, I loved the fact that he respected her so much that he always started his letter with "Respected Zahira ji" whereas, she loved him so much that she she always used to start her letter with "Dear Ghulam Ali ji". I loved Nani's character and how she always had a story to make people realise things. This story doesn't feel like its written by an english writer. It's an Indian, a South Asian work, and it feels that way throughout! In all, it's a bittersweet book and i absolutely love such books. This book was one of my most interesting reads of 2021. I'd definitely recommend this book to each and every one of you.
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Swapna Peri
one of the best books I read in 2021
Reviewed in India on September 7, 2021Gunjan Mittal
Amazing book!
Reviewed in India on November 7, 2021
Gunjan Mittal
Reviewed in India on November 7, 2021
All of us have heard stories of the India Pakistan partition and if you are an Indian, chances are that you know of people who moved from one side to the other and in that lost everything that they knew an owned.
Partition started when they decided to make a line on a map one fine day not thinking of the lives it will impact and it never ended. People like Ghulam Ali had to struggle even a decade after the partition took place.
This is a book written in the way of exchange of letters. Letters exchanged between two lovers who were stuck on different sides of the border. 31 letters kept me completely hooked on from the beginning.
Ghulam Ali, an artificial limb-fitter in the Army accidently remained in Pakistan post partition. He had to forge is passport to come back to India, where he meets Zahira in the passport office. When they were about to get married, he was deported to Pakistan by Indian authorities.
I truly loved the way the author has brought both the characters to life. I felt a deep connection with them. Their struggles, emotions. love, hope, helplessness, everyday situations, are wonderfully described.
The story flows beautifully and I loved some of the lines and quotes from the book. The language is simple and the story is fast moving that keeps the reader completely hooked.
I'm lucky to have gotten an opportunity to read this beautiful book! I will rate this book a 5/5 and will recommend it to all. These are true stories and gives us a glimpse of true struggles people have to go through in life. There is so much to learn of them and feel blessed!
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Rushali Daryani
Extraordinary. Poetic. Emotional.
Reviewed in India on August 14, 2021
Rushali Daryani
Reviewed in India on August 14, 2021
- Hindu Refugee Camp, Lahore by Sachin Garg
The partition of the Indian subcontinent did not begin or end in the year 1947. The spark had been ignited a few decades earlier, and the flames of hatred have consumed many lives, even to this day. The current riots in Delhi, the everyday lynchings on the grounds of religious extremism, or the Delhi pogrom of 2020-21 are just a few examples in the macrocosm of this spiteful reality. The present state of India, where political leaders roam around freely after inciting violence through hate speech, is a reflection of how the world is still run by the likes of Hitler and Mussolini. "The more things change, the more they remain the same," is an extremely relevant line from this book which highly resonated with me and also captures the essence of contemporary India.
The story of Ghulam Ali and Zahira Raza is a fictitious reality, and such a brilliant one at that. Written in the form of an epistolary novel, the exchange of letters between the lovers perfectly depict their longing for each other and the purity of their love. Along with heartfelt confessions of love, the letters also reveal the Muslim protagonist's experiences at a Hindu refugee camp, and his beloved's struggles as a single, handicapped, Muslim woman in the city of Lucknow.
This is a story that was lost, along with much of partition literature, but has been recovered by the author by putting his own creative genius and imaginative faculty to use. The author's agony while recollecting the remnants of Ghulam Ali's story in his note at the end of the book, took me back to Manto's question: "Will Pakistan's literature be separate from that of India's? If so, how? Who owns all that was written in undivided India? Will that be partitioned too?"
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Aditi Debnath
Simply touched my heart.
Reviewed in India on August 22, 2021
Aditi Debnath
Reviewed in India on August 22, 2021
Dear Ghulam Ali ji,
Asalam Walekum. Just cottoned on your life story & I am moved, grief-stricken to realize the sufferings you were forced to go through.
Life at the time of partition was indeed difficult. It was not just the partition of two countries but also the partition of some lost souls, communities and much more. At that phase of life, people were enraged, trust was the major issue and the communal riots which took place was the worst; separating some pure souls like you and your beloved Zahira Raza. Ghulam Ali ji, you won't believe that even after so many years to independence, such communal riots, injustices and mishaps still take place and situations haven't cooled down yet.
Coming back to your life, even after India got its independence- the question remains that- did people like you enjoyed the essence of Independence? No, when the country was celebrating the independence, people like you on the other side of the border were struggling hard to get back to the 'mitti' you were born into.
It was the year 1958, and you were still making effort to get back to India. I am sorry to hear, how brutally you were thrown into Pakistan and were said that you're azad now. But, I know Ghulam Ali ji, you didn't wish for this azadi. All you wanted to get back to your hometown Lucknow, getting embraced in the arms of your beloved Zahira and support her through the motherhood.
But, it's all about kismat Ghulam Ali ji. Maybe Allah has penned your bhagya in that way. I felt awful when I got to know that the government officials of India didn't pay attention to the letters you have sent or did the letters actually reach them? But, at the same time I felt secured that rather than getting into wrong hands, you got a shelter at the 'Hindu Refugee Camp, Lahore'. I am indeed grateful to Pandit ji and glad that you got a companion like Rajkumar(yes, he was a bit weird though).
Ghulam Ali ji, you were indeed right when you wrote these lines to Zahira- “Every time a brother misses a sister, a father misses a daughter, a Zahira misses a Ghulam Ali, it is partition of India coming to life”. Your love for Zahira is indeed pure. Even after so many years of separation, the only thing that first came into your mind was Zahira! I hope you have forgiven Zahira for her sudden disappearance. It was just that, she was afraid to face you; a sense of guilt was going through her mind. She feared if you could ever treat her with utmost izzat or not. She never wanted to separate you from your child.
I hope when both of you united, you accepted and understood her to the core. I hope you didn't question her for anything. Ghulam Ali ji, being a woman, I understood the pain Zahira must have gone through. Even she equally suffered like you.
Ghulam Ali ji, I am happy to say that people aren't considering you a jaasoos anymore. You have simply stole our hearts. You have actually taught us, what sincerity and love for watan is, what is perseverance is & at last what love and longing is. I solely pray to Inshallah that may your story reaches every corner of this world. I wish every Zahira gets a lover like you and every Zubeida gets a father like you. With this, I remain.
Yours well-wisher,
Aditi
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