Amil and the After
The partition of India in 1947 was accompanied by genocide, and its fault lines never disappeared. The great tragedy has inspired landmark films and books over the decades. Amil and the After addresses a gap: a book that grapples with the horrors of the partition, targeted at the middle grades.
“Do you ever wish we could reverse time?” Amil asks his twin sister, Nisha. Like their father, a doctor whose skills are welcome but whose presence is resented, the children are trying to get their footing in the bustling new world of Bombay. The family are refugees from Sindh, in what has become Pakistan. Both Amil and Nisha long for their mother, who died after giving birth to them. Nisha writes to her in her diary, and Amil draws sketches addressed to her. The twins’ longing for their mother, their coming to grips with their new surroundings, their enjoyment of the small pleasures of life, and their tentative new friendships add up to a complex coming-of-age tale.
What makes this tale extraordinary is the historical context juxtaposed with their daily lives. Amil and Nisha are scarred by the horrors they have been through. Amil has heard of women who threw themselves into wells so that they “wouldn’t be touched by evil men.” The twins continue to live through momentous days under the shadows of fear and violence. Amil faces the additional challenge of helping a famished orphan friend, Vishal, fight for survival.
The use of “Mama” for mother and Vishal’s repeated use of “man” seem out of place, but in the big scheme, Amil’s voice and his sketches make this an outstanding contribution to the genre and a thoughtful exploration of the consequences of bigotry.
