ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with reminisces of two items, a ghara and a gaz, which were brought by the author's elder family members when they came as refugees to Delhi from Lahore, Pakistan, during the 1947 Partition of India. The ghara was a medium-sized, round-bottomed German silver vessel used for churning lassi. The gaz was a metallic yard stick to measure fabric. The author's experience with the gaz and ghara led her to begin thinking more and more of the refugees that had travelled across the border with the expectation of a better future – Hindus and Sikhs to India, Muslims to Pakistan. The author thought of her grand-uncle and his relationship to their parents’ belongings. She realized that the Partition was not just about those that crossed the border, but also about those that remained behind. It was in fact, multi-layered – emotional displacement, loss, violence, a strange sense of beginning again and perhaps even in some cases, hope.
