The Partition of India is a saddest time in the whole Indian history. India was about to get her independence after paying a huge sacrifice of blood sweat and tears of her sons and daughters, many of whom remained unsung. And at the same time, Jinnah’s direct action plan was creating a mayhem in areas which were going to be East and West Pakistan. Stories around Lahore particularly were distressing. Jinnah’s plan disrupted life in the region. During this time, young ones lost their parents, youth lost their job and love interests. Many families left their home behind and took the leap of faith to reach safety from the massacres happening around. Undivided Punjab was a thing of past. Lahore, was on the other side of the border. Those were the dark days indeed with a tiniest silver lining of Indian independence.

Magnificent characters from history and her mind

Writing anything about this period needs to be researched with the highest possible depth. There are so many movers and shakers of the Indian subcontinent’s history involved.  Manreet Sodhi Someshwar had taken up that herculean task to enter into the labyrinth of historical events. And she emerged triumphant out of it. Her research about facts and stalwart figures like Sardar Vallabhbhai, Pandit Nehru, Jinnah, etc. is thorough. 

But, this is not a history book. Lahor, Book 1 of the partition trilogy, is a novel. It’s a story of people whom Manreet has conjured. She had done such a wonderful job of making them equally real as these historical giants. Manreet is a master storyteller. Her story is engaging. It keeps you reading through its pages until you feel burdened by the emotions her characters are going through.

Cover is so colourful – Just like Lahor

I just loved the colourful cover of this book. Vibrant red with yellow flowers and the iconic building of Badshahi mosque on the cover catches your eye at a first glance. I have heard stories about how colourful and lively Lahor and other historical cities have been. This cover design has done justice to those glorious tales.

If you like historical fiction, you should not miss this book. I am so much looking forward to Kashmir and Hyderabad, the next two books Manreet has planned for this partition trilogy.

Blurb

In the months leading up to Independence, in Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Vallabhbhai Patel are engaged in deliberations with British Viceroy Dickie Mountbatten over the fate of the country. In Lahore, Sepoy Malik returns home from the Great War hoping to win his sweetheart Tara’s hand in marriage, only to find divide-and-rule holding sway, and love, friendships, and familial bonds being tested.

Set in parallel threads across these two cities, Lahore is a behind-the-scenes look into the negotiations and the political skulduggery that gave India its freedom, the price for which was batwara. As the men make the decisions and wield the swords, the women bear the brunt of the carnage that tears through India in the sticky hot months of its cruellest summer ever.

Backed by astute research, The Partition Trilogy captures the frenzy of Indian independence, the Partition and the accession of the states, and takes readers back to a time of great upheaval and churn.

About the book

Title: Lahor

Author: Manreet Sodhi Someshwar

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 313

Where to buy

• Amazon paperback
• Amazon Kindle

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