Westland launches Indira Varma’s Memoir Lest We Forget, Tale of How Three Sisters Braved the Partition
Westland Books today launched Delhi-based author Indira Varma’s gripping memoir Lest We Forget. The book chronicles Indira’s life from her initial years in Peshawar in Pakistan, through the Partition of the Indian subcontinent, to her later years as a successful career woman and an entrepreneur. The book is published by Westland Books and will be available in bookstores from 16th October 2023.
In this touching account, Indira Varma recounts how her family was swept up in the tragic Partition and how their fortunes drastically changed—from a life of privilege in Peshawar to becoming homeless refugees in India. She opens her life to the readers to show how, despite all odds, she and her two sisters ended up building successful lives for themselves. Varma’s story is a testament to resilience and hope.
On the launch of her book, author Indira Varma said, “I have dedicated this book to my two sisters Didi & Roopy, my lifelines. We have shared poverty & childhood, hunger & grief, we slept and studied on the floor. We were able to get through it all because we were together.”
Karthika V.K., Publisher, Westland Books, added, “What’s special about the book is that it is written from a child’s perspective- how did the child see the changing world around her, and what she knew about the two countries breaking up. She thought she was going on a vacation but then she realized she could not go back to her home ever. The honesty with which Indira describes her emotions in the book, especially her sisterhood is very admirable.”
Amitabh Kant, India’s G 20 Sherpa, said, “Lest We Forget is not just a narrative of a life upturned by the partition, it is a profound story of the enduring power of love and the strength of hope. Indira Varma’s words resonate with the heartaches and triumphs of the generation and her storytelling transcends time and allows us to connect with the past in a deeply personal way.”
Author, politician, and former diplomat, Pavan K. Varma said, “This book on partition is important because we as people, suffer from historical amnesia. We jump from the golden age of the Guptas to the Great Mughals, but we are a little amiss about recent history. When you read this book, you learn about how these three sisters in very adverse circumstances during partition occasionally felt defeated but never lost their resilience. They continued and ultimately achieved success.”
Kishwar Desai, author and chair of the Partition Museum, Amritsar and Delhi, stated “This book is very special not only because it is a wonderful piece of literature but also for the immense contribution it makes towards documenting the story of partition. It is rare to find a woman’s experience of the partition, but this biography achieves that.”