Liminal Tides

The land turned liminal. A subcontinent cleaved, borders dissolved and reformed amidst the caravans and the carnage. Time became liminal. Freedom arrived at the stroke of midnight but millions of people hung between hope and despair. Torn asunder, families were liminal. Forced to leave their past behind, they groped for a new future in an emotional and social haze.

These liminal tides wash three families—the Bandhopadhyas, Rawats, and Khannas—on the shores of Meerut and Delhi in newly independent India, each passing through their unique upheavals. Unknown to them, a benefactor has bound their destinies in a knot. As a new generation comes of age in the families, a party brings them together where they discover how they are connected, and new liminal bonds emerge.

Based on true accounts of the Partition, Soumitra Banerji’s powerful prose weaves the granular detail of three cultures and the fluidity, pain, and emotion of the times. For anyone affected by the Partition, it will be impossible not to see a reflection of their journey in Banerji’s story.