The Speaking Window: Tale. From a Floorlied Timeline is a heart-wrenching account of the world's biggest forced migration in human history, the partition of 1947, told through the real-life experiences of its survivors. Sandeep, Faisal, and Ritika, separated by time zones and borders, embark on a quest to find individuals on both sides of the border who suffered the trauma of the partition, to document their memories and understand how it changed their lives forever. Over 200 survivors were found, of which 47 stories are featured in the book. They string together 52 cities across five countries. Through the eyes of survivors, this book offers a rare glimpse of the toll of communal violence, chronicling the experiences of those who were forced to flee their homes and start anew. It is a must-read for any- one interested in understanding the impact of partition on people's lives and why they feel nostalgic while recalling those times.
SANDEEP DUTT is an explorer and storyteller who has dedicated himself to capturing the varied narratives of life. He is an avid traveller, an artist, and a lover of music and poetry.
FAISAL HAYAT is a passionate journalist with a Master's degree in Media Science. When he's not reporting on the latest news, he can be found writing poetry or advocating for animal rights.
RITIKA is a cyber-security instructor and a writer with a passion for storytelling. She is committed to creating thought-provoking works that inspire readers to see the world through a different lens.
Survival has never been about only the heroic tales of singing Kumbaya in the moments of fear, when it is the question of life and death, everything narrows down to the instinct of staying alive. And, those who fail to adapt or change, their existence disappears as if was never there in the first place. This is where the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest comes in.
Since the very existence of this life-sustaining planet Earth, be it the search for food or a new water resource or a place fit for shelter to sustain life, almost every living being has had to travel hundreds and thousands of miles when needed.
Like any other species, migration is not a new term to human beings. Since their origin, first it was starvation and then growth, from the stone age to the present techno-savvy era, migration has only become more and more important. Even the wars within and against the countries resulted in it. This book is about the world's biggest migration in human history, which was not a choice of those who migrated!
After a long period of struggle for independence when a nation fought for its freedom to liberate itself from the shackles of slavery, little did they know the cost to be paid would come in the form of a new pair of chains- the partition, the scars of which are remnant till date. The partition of 1947 claimed millions of lives and affected countless families which got burnt in the fire of communal violence. And this fire of abhorrence has been fanned for decades and decades to come.
Fast forward to 70 years later, a young man who was then living in Ludhiana, Punjab, India, in search of his artistic pursuits, quits his job and ends up in an Urdu class of an 87-year-old Prem Singh Bajaj, who had been teaching Urdu for the last 22 years. He sparks a fascination in his student's curious mind with his survivor story of the 1947 partition.
Before we begin our long list of thankyous, we all would like to express our gratitude with a heartfelt THANK YOU to YOU, our readers who have picked up this book who believe in the value that this book hopes to provide you.
Some of you may feel tingling in their hearts, some may feel warmth and some cold some would be excited to see the stories of their fore fathers, and some may relate fractions of these stories with their ancestors' experience. For some, this may be the first experience of a book like this, and which will fill them with a roller-coaster of feelings. And to some, it may be a curiosity voyage. So, before we embark on this journey, we would like to thank you. We may never meet, or perhaps we will but know so, we will always think of you very fondly. This one is for YOU. To our family and friends...
Sandeep Dutt would like to thank his parents and siblings for being supportive to this project and his teachers for always believing in him. A special note to his school Principal Mrs. Leena Taparia who has been a great influence on him. To Madam Navneet Kaur and the whole team of LPU Distance Education and the NGO RudAbha for their constant support. To his friends, Himanshu Sachdeva, Anjum Khan, and Sakshi Khurana for their undying faith in him. To the universe for imparting the wisdom and providing the strength.
Mathews, and Babita Ahuja for being her cheering squad. A special thanks to both Jaspal Kaur and Karan Pratap Singh who recognized and admired the writer within her. And at the end of the day, to the Almighty! For making every fall less painful and every rise much higher!
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