Partition, A Personal Story

"S that our new home?" is Sita's constant refrain, after being uprooted from their land as a consequence of India's Partition in Ritwik Ghatak's cult Partition film Subarnarekha.

- Akash Chatterjee

IS that our new home?" is Sita's constant refrain, after being uprooted from their land as a consequence of India's Partition in Ritwik Ghatak's cult Partition film Subarnarekha. The search for a new home symbolised the journey of many who lost everything and moved to the other side of the border, not only in search of a new home, but also in search of dreams. Generations have grown up listening to the harrowing tales of the land that they lost. Journalist, film critic, and author Bhawana Somaaya had grown up listening to such stories as well. It made her skeptical of reading any Partition-related document or watching a film that deals with the tragedy. "That is because the home in which I was brought up had too many such stories," she says. "I felt depressed while hearing those from my parents. I realised even after so many years, their scars were not healed, and their traumas are real."