Independence

a stunning book, i read in every spare moment of my day then into the night, woke and finished it before dawn. i knew something of India's struggle for Indpendence but i think the writer does something different here in that she focuses on the small, the relations between people and the suffering of the very poor. and she weaves three unforgettable love stories into it. this is not a partisan book, but encompasses all with love. i do not see how anyone could give this masterpiece less than five stars! any worthwhile or even simply credible story of a country's struggle for independence is going to overflow with suffering and the lives of ordinary people.

एकला चलो, एकला चलो,
एकला चलो रे,… (Rabindranath Tagore)“A song by Tagore is playing, made popular by freedom fighters across the country. Gandhiji himself loves it. ‘एकला चोलों रे । If no one responds to your call, then walk alone.’ !”- From : Independence by Chitra Banerjee DivakaruniBook : IndependenceAuthor: Chitra Banerjee DivakaruniGenre : Fiction with a tinge of non-fiction!Price : Rs.699/-No. of Pages : 285ISBN : 978 - 93 - 5629 - 458 - 5Available in : HardbackLanguage : EnglishPublished by : HarperCollins Publishers 2022“Who is it that dares ask, ‘The drowning ones - are they Hindu or Muslim?’Say instead, they are humans, they are the children of my motherland.”Cover : So apt with the Kantha work (quilts), conch shell, fish (Bengal) … sailboats (sailing across) illustrating ‘partition’ - Loved the embossed work.Title : Independence : So appropriate : Independence of India and Pakistan from the British Rule, independence of culture- tradition, independence of personal choices, independence of views and values… and much more.The Story :Primarily: A story of three sisters - separated by a quirk of fate ! Each sister has a unique personality of her own! Each has a passionate dream.Deepa - The beautiful, the romantic one!Jaimini - The artistic one. Sings beautifully and helps her mother to make lovely Kantha-work Quilts! The ‘one’ means to earn their livelihood.Priya - The youngest takes after her father - a doctor with noble principles. The brainy one. A doctor with high aspirations!The partition separates them …The backdrop of the story:The story revolves around the province of Bengal, during 1947.India, during the Independence was partitioned into India and Pakistan. Bengal - The eastern part of Bengal became East Pakistan (now - Bangladesh) while the western part is India’s West Bengal today.The Partition: its violence, the agitation, the destruction of the country, of human values and principles of peace and harmony- all described so well with such zeal and ardour.Finally, the reunion!Comes with all its pathos, pain, pleasures! And the twist at the end gives the story an exuberant ending. The three sisters uniting again but at what a cost! What a loss!!*****The Content : The author has dealt with the burning-harsh topic of partition with an expertise. Not too much, not too little. How the lives of the general public was affected. Each house has a story to tell. This book tells the story of just one happy home that was ruined during the fight for our country’s Independence !Language:Caters to all levels of readers. Excellent!The Style of Writing :Simple, relatable, so lucid! Beautiful! The choice of words is superb. The descriptions read powerfully strong.The Flow :What a flow it has! Like a river, the story flows, and you glide along with it, you swim with the tide - the waters are sometimes smooth, calm, soothing at other times disturbed, destroying, troubled, turbulent, wrenching, wrecking - shocking- horrific …It makes the novel a very fast read. I loved it. Not a moment of boredom or procrastinating or playing around a situation. Once you start reading, you simply cannot put it down! Very engaging indeed.What I loved :The alliterations! They are so excitingly eye-catching! Brilliant! One wants to read them again and again!- Priya - ‘passionate with purpose’- (Priya has a dream) to ‘help the helpless’- Another man in this ‘gaggle of girls’ would be a help.- ‘Boring backwaters’ village.- The slaughter here is ‘deeply, differently, dreadful.’Excerpts :- Life was too short to waste on trivialities when one had a Goal.- When men go off to be heroes, do they even realise what it does to the women they leave behind?- She knows that the marital fate of younger sisters depends on the quality of the match made by the eldest.- The world is full of good people too …A salute to the Author 🫡 :Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has proved her mastery at narrating historical stories to arrest the readers interest immediately.The inclusion of Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti (songs written and composed by Kazi Nazrul Islam, the national poet of Bangladesh) lends powerful cultural essence to the story ! It lends the book such a unique flavour! We salute to her remarkable skill of capturing our hearts!A must read and a must have in your collection for generations to read and know the history of India!*****

Muy bien escrito ! Me encantó este libro

I always check out any book that offers cultural diversity and have read many books about India overtime. And not becausemy husband is Indian, because I love historical fiction.This was a good and fast read for me. The character development was strong and true. Because this story contained a lot about Indian partition I was a little bit caught off guard by the historical report of the incredible violence that occurred. It was very graphic and true, but a titch disturbing. I wouldn't tell anyone to not read this book but I would mention the accurate history and the horrors of 2hat millions of people endured during partition and country division

A spirit of sisterhood stitched into spellbinding storytelling within the fabric of India's independence.A poignant read.