Kartar

"Kartar, An Indian Immigrant in East Africa, 1927 to 1949". 

This non-fiction book is about Kartar's life in colonial East Africa, after landing there in 1927 in search of better economic and employment opportunities.

Part one (1927-1942) provides an insight to a fifteen-year-old Indian immigrant's overwhelming feelings of loneliness and his struggles to start a new life among alien cultures of the native people and the new migrants from Europe. It depicts how his love for adventure and determination to overcome challenges, helped him to settle in the heart of Africa. It is based on the personal written memorabilia and audiotapes left behind by our father, Kartar.

Part two of the book contains translations of letters written to Kartar in East Africa, by his two brothers in India, during the six-year period 1943-1949.

They provide a personal angle on history and give us a glimpse into the intimate thoughts of the writers. They recount with first hand clarity their life as rural farmers during the austerity and uncertainty caused by WW2. They give a heart wrenching insight into the destruction caused by Partition at the end of British colonial rule in India.

These plain-spoken letters with beautiful descriptive details take us back on a personal journey, reliving the dynamics of a joint farming family in a small village of Punjab. They bring to life the family's struggles, and how their overwhelming unity, love and support for each other ultimately helped them to survive the challenges. They show how the hearts of three brothers remained connected and intertwined, despite the thousands of miles separating them.

This book is a prequel to "Leave Only Footprints" written by Jaihind S Sumal. Some of the information overlaps with Kartar's memoirs in the earlier book.