Between a Breath and a Pause, Life is a Story‪…‬

Between a Breath and a Pause, Life is a Story… is dedicated to those who exist between a ‘Breath and a Pause’. It covers just about everyone who fought the good fight called life.

Find yourself again as you get drawn into these pages of recollections, short stories, anecdotes and poems. This book starts with a story inspired by the real-life, heartfelt journey of a young woman during partition and after that.

The Journey: A young woman of twenty was one of the victims of the deadly mass migration. Born in Delhi, Saloni was adopted by her aunt and brought up in Rawalpindi. Barely had she finished college when the violence began. Soon after, the British announced the partition of India. Amidst death and a morbid fear for their lives, many fled, leaving everything behind. Some got away with just the clothes on their backs. Many didn’t make it beyond their front door.

Surviving the holocaust and then the mental pain of living in a refugee camp in Delhi, Saloni grew up to be a fiercely independent woman who faced many more challenges throughout her life. “I did my best. Life has not been easy.” she would say out loud to the birds flying in the dusky sky. Just as pain and suffering are a part of life, so is happiness. It is possible to find that niche again. She was taught as a child to search for answers, but there are no explanations for certain things and there was no point in asking ‘why’. All answers cannot be found in one lifetime.