Child Of The Divide
by Sudha Bhuchar

I have a boy.

He is across the border, I know he is.

A few miles between.

The same stars

Shine on him

Summer 1947.

Sixteen million people are on the move between India and the newly-formed Pakistan.

Amid the violent political upheaval, young Pali's fingers slip from his father's hand, and his destiny changes forever.

Lost, dispossessed and alone, Pali is saved by a Muslim family.

The boy is given a new home and new family, a new name, a new faith and a new life.

But seven years later, his real father returns to claim him and Pali's life is turned upside down again.

He is forced to decide who he is: the Hindu boy he was born to be, the Muslim boy he has become, or simply a child of the divide.

This edition has been published to mark the 70th anniversary of the partition of India and a new high-profile production originating once again at the Polka Theatre.

Sudha Bhuchar's remarkable story of family, identity and belonging set against a fractured landscape is a fictionalised account of real experiences, of families torn apart and of stolen pasts, where friendship and love are found in unexpected places.