The Otherside of Partition: An Ode to Sisterhood Amid the Break-Up of Bengal and the Birth of a Nation

I had tears in my eyes as I read the proof copy of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s latest novel “Independence.” It is set during the harrowing partition of British India that took place during 1946-1947. My family, like multitudes of families, was forced to leave their homes in Punjab during the partition. I felt a strange sense of deja vu because the book cover reminded me of my other favorite novel by Divakaruni, “The Palace of Illusions.” The portrait of the three sisters stepping through a symbolic arch is also quite striking. Their figures reminded me of classic and contemporary books about sisters including “Little Women,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “The Brontës,” “The Weird Sisters,” “Three Dark Crowns” and “Half of the Yellow Sun.” “Independence” is poised to be another classic. It’s a fascinating story of unbreakable bonds between siblings and people who share the “mitti” of Bengal. There is love, friendship, treachery, fear, loss, separation, jealousy, heartbreak, devastation and unexpected reconciliation. 

Set in pre-partition British India the novel is unique in my eyes because the story focuses on the heart-rending partition of West Bengal from East Bengal. Chitra addresses many important political and social questions concerning Indian independence and the sacrifice of millions of Indians. Her novel hovers over a village in Bengal where a young compassionate doctor Nabakumar Ganguly lives with his wife and three daughters. He loves them all but he favors Priya, because she is like him. Dr. Ganguly’s work ethic is steeped in compassion, humanity and “desh prem”. His wife Deepa is a traditional woman and devoted to her family. She loves to make Bengali embroidered Kantha quilts. His daughters are unique in their own way.

Priya: Smart, inquisitive, quick to anger, tomboyish and stubborn. She hero-worships her dad and serves as his first assistant in minor surgeries and deliveries. Will she become a doctor? Is she able to complete her training in India during the mayhem of partition? Does she work side by side with her father? Priya reminds me of Jo from “Little women.” Her overt mantle of courage covers the deeply emotional and sensitive psyche she keeps hidden. Does she transform Petruccio’s reluctant bride Katherina into an obedient wife?

Deepa: A classic beauty, always well groomed with flowing silky hair. Fond of makeup and accessories. The belle of the village. Predicted to be wooed by suitors from wealthy families. She reminds me of the pretty Meg conceived by Louisa May Alcott. Does Deepa fall in love? Is her love returned? Does she have the great Bengali wedding, with alta, mukut, conch shells, seven-layered gold necklace, bangles, anklets and rings? Do her parents bid her adieu after entertaining the groom’s party with the best Bengali dishes and delicacies? 

Jamini: Clever, responsible, calculative, gifted singer and an excellent quiltmaker. She is a bit like Amy from Little Women. Or is she Shakespeare’s more congenial Bianca from Taming of the Shrew? Her passions do run deeper than she reveals… but what does she really want? Does she fulfill her heart’s desire? Does she help her family?

The girls offer a united heart pierced with love and sorrow as alms to the Goddess. Their fervent voices echo through the pages of the book into the ears of the readers. They sing songs penned by sons and daughters of their great Motherland.

The male protagonist is Amit: The handsome son of Nabakumar’s friend Somnath Ghosh who has grown up in a big house not far from the girls. He likes all of them. They are all fond of him just like the March sisters who are obsessed with Theodore Laurence, “Laurie.” But as Amit gets older, he discovers that his heartstrings are inadvertently entangled with one of the three sisters. His romantic notions remind me of the love story from the movie Parineeta. All three girls possess great qualities but who does he find most attractive? Does he profess his love? Is his love reciprocated? Do they live happily ever after in the beautiful haveli in the village or in Calcutta? 

When the drastic and dispassionate line of partition was drawn on 14-15 August 1947, it triggered mayhem of sectarian violence, religious cleansing and refugee crises. Chitra names the political figures of the era responsible for the bloody independence of our country and division into arbitrary dominions: India and Pakistan. For 75 years we have not been able to recover from this divide. Twenty million lives were displaced. Two million killed. Their homes destroyed, their women raped, their children burned. Could this have been prevented if Louis Mountbatten or Cyril Radcliffe would have been humanitarians? If Mohammad Ali Jinnah had revealed that his body was racked with tuberculosis and cancer? If Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru had agreed to let Jinnah be the first prime minister of Independent India? If Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi had a different strategy than prolonged fasting? Perhaps then the fate of our nation would have been different, as would have been the story of the three sisters.

To wrap up, Chitra fashions the heart-rending narrative drawing from personal memory, love and respect for her grandfather, true nostalgia for her homeland, its people and their love for music. And a great sensitivity towards the birth of a nation. Divakaruni drags us willy-nilly into the strange battlefield on the streets of Bengal. Friends become foes. The three sisters walk alone on their independent paths with courage and dignity. Their slender bodies are nourished with puffed rice, fresh lucchis, mustard fish curry, narkus. Sweet memory of a rose flavored sondesh, a pastry from Nahoum’s bakery, and an ice cream cone. Nights shared in their parents’ home wrapped in silk Kantha quilts. A game of chess, scattered. Despite all odds, the girls offer a united heart pierced with love and sorrow as alms to the Goddess. Their fervent voices echo through the pages of the book into the ears of the readers. They sing songs penned by sons and daughters of their great Motherland. Couplets penned by Sarojini Naidu, Rabindranath Tagore, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Nazrul Islam honor the sacrifice of millions like them. Paving the way to the Independence of India from British imperial rule. 

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has done it again — connected the readers to the complex history of India. Reminding us of the price our country paid to achieve independence. Her prose echoes the sentiment of my favorite song by Rabindranath Tagore:

Jodi Tor Dak Shune
Keu Na Ashe
Tobe Ekla Cholo Re
Jodi Tor Dak Shune
Keu Na Ashe
Tobe Ekla Cholo Re
Tobe Ekla Cholo, Ekla Cholo
Ekla cholo, Ekla Cholo Re
Tobe Ekla Cholo, Ekla Cholo
Ekla Cholo, Ekla Cholo Re 

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With one foot in Huntsville, Alabama, the other in her birth home India and a heart steeped in humanity, writing is a contemplative practice for Monita Soni. She has published hundreds of poems, movie reviews, book critiques, essays and contributed to combined literary works. Her two books are My Light Reflections and Flow through My Heart. You can hear her commentaries on Sundial Writers Corner WLRH 89.3FM and the Princess Theater.