Untold stories of partition

An exhibition rekindles memories of Partition with books, films, photographs, art, letters and oral testimonies

They were about to get married but fate had other plans. When they met next, Bhagwan Singh Maini and Pritam Kaur were in a refugee camp in Amritsar and had seen their world torn apart in Pakistan due to Partition. They could bring only a few things with them while leaving home (Pakistan), among them were a phulkari jacket and a brown leather briefcase. There are numerous such untold stories of Partition that are on display at an eight day-long exhibition presented by The Partition Museum Project titled ‘Rising from the Dust: Hidden Tales from India’s 1947 Refugee Camps’.

The exhibition showcases the ‘memories’ of Partition, which people brought along with them while leaving their home forever in the form of clothes, artworks, books, documentaries, photographs, silent films and many experiences. Kishwar Desai, who heads the project says, “Through this project, we hope to eventually create a physical space that will be a memorial to the personal and human tragedies of this event, a commemoration of the resilience of people that migrated, a reminder of the need for continuous dialogue. But before that we wanted to show people the progress of our work till now and also to encourage more people to come forward and share their memories. We are trying to build an archival record of the largest mass migration in our history.”

The exhibition also features many letters written by friends and family to their loved ones across the border. One such touching letter came to Amar Kapur, who moved to India after Partition from Asif Khwaja from Temple Road, Lahore. Asif wrote in his letter, “It gladdened my heart to hear from an old and dear friend after months of patient waiting, but it was a sad thought that we should have to communicate with each other through the cold, lifeless medium of the written word instead of meeting in the flesh as we did so often.”

Talking about the collected letters from public and private archives, Kishwar says, “There are many letters where people have written to the government about the things or people they have lost; some have talked about their parents, grandmothers and the things they got with them while leaving their homes. There are also newspaper archives with long lists of missing persons with their descriptions.”

The exhibition also displays works of artist Sardari Lal Parasher, including sketches and sculptures based on Ambala’s Baldev Nagar refugee camp, where Parasher was the camp commander. “Parasher was the vice-principal at Lahore’s Mayo School of Art and in India, he set up Government School of Arts in Shimla,” shares Sunaina Anand, who is in the advisory board of The Partition Museum Project.

She continues, “The works are a reflection of what he saw at the camp. His works beautifully capture the pain and sorrow of that time. These works are an integral part of Indian art history and I believe more people need to see them. Many of the works on display have never been seen before.”

The museum is expected to open by end of next year and will feature narratives of people from all walks of life, shares Kishwar, adding, “People from all parts of the world have come forward and contributed in the form of anecdotes about their journey since Partition. And in the process of our research we have found some heart-touching stories that need to be narrated.”