It was during the unprecedented turmoil and unrest of Partition that Babaji came into the possession of this beautiful Quran. From stories passed down, we know that he was given this by someone whose identity has been lost to time. But what is certain is that it was a symbol of faith amidst the tragic loss of lives and the pain of separation from one’s homeland and family.
The postcard is about 5.5″ x 3.5″ in dimensions. There’s a round black seal beside the stamp which reads “26 Mar 49 , 8 AM , Comilla”. That means it was posted at 08:00 am, 26th March, 1949, from the post office in Comilla.
The brass tumbler measures around nine centimetres in height and has a design of peacocks around it. Time and age have discoloured it and it is dented at the bottom. Somewhere along the journeys it has taken, it acquired this dent.
A silver kada, the protagonist of this story, isn’t just an ornament, it’s a reward given for the strength and determination shown by my mother from my great grandmother. But my journey to uncover the kada’s story has been nothing short of an adventure — a puzzle waiting to be solved. Its history, wrapped in silence and secrecy, felt like uncharted territory.
This is an excerpt from a journal entry written by my paternal grandfather, Tilak Raj Malhotra. The entries span from December 1949 to December 1982. Reading these feels like an intrusion to me, given their deeply personal nature and my lack of explicit permission. Yet, years ago, I resolved to document them on this Archive
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