Chroniclers of catastrophe called Partition

Nonika Singh in chandigarh

A boy all of nine watches a stationery owner being butchered to death. He is so traumatized that all his life he is unable to face death of his loved ones.

A family that migrated to Pakistan rediscovers the jewels they had left behind in a wall of a home in Delhi.

A lone woman walks miles to reach a refugee camp to ensure the money and ornaments that her neighbour had thrown in her courtyard while fleeing are restored to the rightful owner. 

Mujhe to laga mera ghar hai vo, 
par log batate hai ab Pakistan hai vo….
Aaj jab baccho ko ithaas padaya jata hai,
To ik tarfa mahol bataya jata hai,
Unhe ye kaise bataye ki,
Sarhad ke us paar humne apna bachpan bitaya hai,
Rishtey jeeye hai, tyohar manaye hai,
Talwaare to baad me uthi,
Pahele humne saath me lohri ke dhol bajaye hai.
Thus writes Jasbir Kaur Thadani.

The Partition of India is one of the most cataclysmic events disastrously dismembering lives in countless tales untold. A few found a voice in literature, but most lost to time. Before the Partition generation becomes history too, a people's museum is slowly taking shape. As it scrapes the memories of those who dared dream, the remembrances tend to walk back to a permanent home. So audio recordings have begun and memorabilia dating to that period is being collected. A wedding duppata, a gadwi, a phulkari… soon objects too will become raconteurs. 

At the India Art Fair, Kishwar Desai, chair and trustee of the Partition Museum Project, is overwhelmed by the response. Nearly 2,000 people visited her exhibit at the fair. She recalls how she thought of the museum -- a unique memorial to a generation -- nearly two decades ago. For years she was dissuaded as it seemed impossible to put it all together. However, today she has many a distinguished and like-minded men and women on board as her dream takes shape. 

"Unlock the pages of history and you'll find Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah, Lord Mountbatten and others; what they said, which meeting took place and suchlike. What remains shut out are the ordinary people. The Partition is a tragedy of epic proportions affecting 14 million people. Why have we forgotten these people and their pain?" says Kishwar.

But do we really need to remember the horrors? "With acceptance and reconciliation comes healing. There are similar museums around the world." 

Amardeep Behl who designed the Virasat-e-Khalsa museum's exhibition concept and design at Anandpur Sahib, agrees. "I come from a Partition family. My father didn't speak about it till I was 20. There is an urgent need to talk about it." 

But when you chronicle oral history, there is a danger of facts being distorted? "No doubt," agrees Dr Gurpreet Maini, a historian and an ardent supporter of the project. "Those who with an emotional connect can never be dispassionate. Yet, people can recall several nuances overlooked by historians." One has to start with some degree of faith, says Desai. 

Many of the stories that have come to them are about hope and human spirit. Certainly some harrowing moments too would be frozen, but Maini says, "When we look at the Holocaust museum, we respond with 'never again.' We hope the same would hold true for this." Any wonder what they have in mind is an experiential museum which would be transformative and multi-layered.

Behl says unlike the grand Virasat-e-Khalsa, this one will be more stark and austere, but no less engaging. Building many layers of the emotive experience, it won't be a mere showcase of objects as most museums are. Instead, all will be contextualized; there will be several time capsules. Visitors can choose whichever layer they want to access depending upon how much time they can spare. His real work will start once the physical place is finalized. As of now Amritsar is the likely home, the second choice is New Delhi. Desai doesn't give away too much about whether it will be a public-private partnership. "We have given the plans to the government and would gladly welcome their support whichever way they are ready to," says Desai. 

Help is pouring, in both cash and kind. A host of professionals from museologists to historians are helping out, gratis. And artists as eminent as Anjolie Ela Menon and ace fashion designer Ritu Kumar are the trustees of the project.

For more information log on to:

http://www.thepartitionmuseumproject.com