Child of the Divide

by Sudha Bhuchar

I have a boy. He is across the border, I know he is.A few miles between. The same starsShine on himSummer 1947. Sixteen million people are on the move between India and the newly-formed Pakistan. Amid the violent political upheaval, young Pali's fingers slip from his father's hand, and his destiny changes forever.Lost, dispossessed and alone, Pali is saved by a Muslim family. The boy is given a new home and new family, a new name, a new faith and a new life. But seven years later, his real father returns to claim him and Pali's life is turned upside down again. He is forced to decide who he the Hindu boy he was born to be, the Muslim boy he has become, or simply a child of the divide.This edition has been published to mark the 70th anniversary of the partition of India and a new high-profile production originating once again at the Polka Theatre. Sudha Bhuchar's remarkable story of family, identity and belonging set against a fractured landscape is a fictionalised account of real experiences, of families torn apart and of stolen pasts, where friendship and love are found in unexpected places.

60 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 22, 2017