The New Indian Express ·
Sticking to the letter
Even as the memories of partition may be fading with each generation, efforts to preserve its deeply personal stories, both in literature and cinema, continue. In his debut novel, Dear Zahira, With Love, Sachin NG turns to letters exchanged between two people separated by a border to explore Partition not as a historical event, but as an intimate story of love, longing and loss.
The novel, based on a true story, focuses on Havildaar Ghulam Ali and Zahira Raza, and draws from the letters they exchanged between 1958 and 1960. Set in Lucknow, it explores the aftermath of Partition and the ways in which its upheaval continued to shape ordinary lives.
Zahira falls in love with Ghulam Ali, a limb fitter who helps design a new prosthetic limb for her. Their happiness is short-lived. Ghulam Ali is taken away by the Indian Army on suspicion of being a jasoos. Having previously served in the Pakistan Army, he is not allowed to remain in India despite his attempts to prove his loyalty. “What hurt me more than the blows was the word they kept using. Jasoos. I heard it again and again, said with certainty, as if it explained my whole life.”
