Book & Author

Book: “The Green Fire” by Ms. Kanika Adlakha

Pendown Press’ Latest is about the Pains and Sufferings arising on the backdrop of Partition

The people born in Independent India are lucky enough to roam free in India. But, the generations before them were very unfortunate. The people in those generations faced the brunt of the cruelties and atrocities of Britishers. Their persecution prolonged even after they left our country. They created Pakistan on communal lines. As a natural consequence of this act, the Hindus living in minority areas of newly carved Pakistan were forced to leave their motherland to join their majority counterparts in India where they were called ‘refugees’.

The book ‘The Green Fire’ by Ms. Kanika Adlakha is written on the backdrop of our independence that created two nations and left lakhs of people homeless, shattered for the rest of their life. The exodus of people from one country to another was one of the most horrendous scenes in the history of mankind. This book gives a strong message to the new generation to never give up on life and shows the path of surviving in the worst conditions. The theme of the book has been presented by narrating the story of a family who had to shift to Hindustan and had the bad luck of undergoing the aforesaid miseries.

The book has been divided into two parts. While the first part deals with the places and locations of the story, the second one deals with various characters. Part one has been further divided into ten chapters namely NWFP, Dera Ghazi Khan, Kot Qaisrani, Lahore, Amritsar, Phagwara, Delhi grows in every direction, Mewat— the home of Tablighi Jamaat, Gurgaon, and Alwar. The locations and cultures of these places have been so beautifully narrated in such a picturesque manner that the reader feels like roaming on those sites. The scene of a local mela has been described as, “This mela was always exciting, and for children, it meant pure fun. They played the whole day at the various swings and when they felt hungry, they would rush to their mothers to get a half anna with which they would buy delicacies like jalebi, balushahi, and sohan halwa in desi ghee.”

The second part of the book concentrates on various characters related to the story of this family. Accordingly, this part has been further divided into ten chapters namely Meera, Bhagonwali, Meera, Veera, Preeto, Meera’s death, Viraj—the second generation, Sukhdev, Laiaji, and Bhagonwali.

These characters have been described so beautifully that the readers begin to feel as if they are living with them. Just see the word sketch of a traditional lady, “Bhagonwali was the mother of his two sons and two daughters, but while talking to her husband, she made sure that her dupatta was firmly pulled over her face whenever she stood in front of him.”

The language of the book is so easy that any reader can understand it so easily. Depiction of places and characters are another aspects of the book that catch the eyes of the readers. At the end of the book, the author has also provided her contact details under the head ‘Call to action’.

The book is a must-read for every person who is interested in understanding the complete scenario of the Indian partition and also all those who are interested in knowing how to rise and grow again after having a fall at any juncture of life.

You can get a copy of “The Green Fire” through our website. You can also grab the copy through our e-commerce portals, such as Amazon, Flipkart….