Book Review : From Quetta to Delhi - A Partition Story by Reema Nanda

By Murtaza Kuwarawala -
Never Judge a book by its cover nor by the name it possesses. The same case happened with me when I read the title of the name 'From Quetta to Delhi'. To be honest, I didn't take any pains to read the blurb because a story on partition is something I always wanted to read an action packed story on Partition. Sadly, the book wasn't what I had expected. So, what was the book about? What did made me read the book? Read further to know about it.

Blurb:

The invisible cost of the Partition of the Punjab in 1947 - besides the violence, loss of life and property - was that it destroyed the psychic equilibrium of the displaced population. This is the story of one such woman, Shakunt, who rebuilt her life but could never get over the trauma of losing her homes in Quetta and Jhang - not just the loss of a physical space but of the language, culture and ethos that it had embodied. A syncretic culture of multilingualism - Urdu, Persian and Punjabi - and of multiple identities of caste, mohalla and religion.

But then there was the disaster of the Quetta Earthquake of l935, and of Partition, which tore the family apart because her father chose to remain in Quetta as a member of the Pakistan Civil Service.
Shakunt coped with her mental distress by escaping into the past, reliving the memories of her life in Quetta and Jhang. Hers was a feminine recall of the perhaps insignificant yet poignant details of daily lives which hinged on the drama of the trivial - on food, rituals and neighbourhood bonding. Of an agnostic father, a mother who was a devotee of Guru Nanak, of pilgrimages to Sufi shrines. This is Shakunt's story as recorded by her daughter.

My Take on the Book:

As I mentioned earlier, the book was not an all-out action on the India-Pakistan Partition which I was kind of expecting. On the contrary, the book is a biographical account of Shakunt who was brought up in Pakistan and had to migrate to India during Partition. The best thing about the book are the beautiful poems that come up every now and then. Eventhough, it was difficult for me to connect to them at certain times, the translations provided indeed sends shivers down your spine as you read through them. One such popular poem in the book that incites deep thoughts.


‘Ek Palak me sab kuch fana ho gaya

Is Khubsoorat zindagi ka ek hissa tabah ho gaya

Nayi zindagi kahan laijayegi?

Kahan hoga hamara basera?

Kya gul dikhayegi yeh Zindagi? 
What does not work in the book at certain places are the characters that one cannot easily relate to. Keeping track of so many characters and also not settling to calling the characters similarly throughout the book is a bit irksome and could have been avoided.

Overall, the book is a beautiful read that one should not avoid if they love poetry. Also, one should read the book to explore the beautiful traditions of Punjab before and after partition and the way the author has brought it out magically with the occasional poems. 

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of 5

Book in Three Words: Magical. Nostalgic. Emotional.

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