GAZING AT NEIGHBOURS IBD

Sinopse

About the BookAN INTERESTING TAKE AT THE PARTITION OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, THIS BOOK LOOKS AT THE PLACES DOTTING INDIAâÇÖS BORDERS WITH ITS NEIGHBOURS AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE.In July 1947, British barrister Cyril Radcliffe was summoned to New Delhi and given five weeks to draw, on the map of the subcontinent, two zigzagged lines that would decide the future of one-fifth of the human race.One line, 553 kilometres long, created the province of West Punjab, the other, adding up to 4,096 kilometres, carved out a province called East Bengal. Both territories joined the newborn nation of Pakistan-an event called the Partition of India, which saw one million people being butchered and another fifteen million uprooted from their homes.Enough and more has been written about the horrors of Partition, but what of the people who actually inhabit the land through which these lines run?Curiosity leads Bishwanath Ghosh into journeying along the Radcliffe Line-through the vibrant greenery of Punjab as well as the more melancholic landscape of the states surrounding Bangladesh-and examining, first hand, life on the border. Recording his encounters and experiences in luminous prose,áGazing at Neighboursáis a narrative of historical stock-taking as much as of travel.About the AuthorBishwanath Ghosh, born in Kanpur on 26 December 1970, is the author of the hugely popularáChai, Chai: Travels in Places Where You Stop But Never Get Off. HeâÇÖs also a Hindi poet, who has two well-received compilations-Jiyo BanarasáandáTedhi-Medhi Lakeeren-to his credit. His other books includeáTamarind City: Where Modern India Began, Longing, Belonging: An Outsider at Home in CalcuttaáandáGazing at Neighbours: Travels Along the Line that Partitioned India. He is an Associate Editor witháThe Hinduánewspaper and lives in Calcutta.