Our Self-Written Obituaries – Arpita Das, Gulmohar Enclave Farewell Notice by The Delhi Walla - February 28, 2015February 28, 20151 The 23rd death. [Text by Arpita Das; photo by Freddie Ribeiro] Arpita Das was an independent publisher of a whimsical list of books. Although she was often heard saying that she couldn't be bothered with bestselling books, a friend remembers that she lived her entire working life in anticipation of publishing a bestseller. Few may be aware that Ms Das was also a writer. Apart from blog posts that seemed much too short and feature pieces that were much too long, she wrote fiction in her head transferring it at times to Evernote. Four chapters of a novel about the Bengalis of Banaras and three more of ghost stories for young readers have been found thus. Towards the end of her life, Ms
Letter from Montreal – Partition Objects, Delhi & Pakistan General by The Delhi Walla - February 28, 2015February 28, 20153 Anatomy of the Radcliffe Line. [Text and photos by Aanchal Malhotra] There is a map on the wall of my room. It is a modern depiction of the projections of Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. Towards the east, prominently recognizable even then by its elegantly sharp peninsular shape, rests the Indian subcontinent. The colours of the map are bright- blues, greens, yellows and oranges -- except within the subcontinent. Here the map acquires a dull, aged look. My fingers have often grazed over this portion, wearing down the surface day after day; eroding the vibrant inks. I trace the land where a border has now been established, where India ends and Pakistan begins. This was not a boundary that always existed.