New Delhi: Khushwant Singh's famous book Train to Pakistan will make a reappearance in a new illustrated version nearly 50 years after it first hit the stores.
The wounds of the partition may have healed but the "poison" is still in our system. This was Khushwant Singh's sentiments during the launch of a new illustrated edition of his Train to Pakistan.
This time the book is accompanied by poignant pictures taken by American Life magazine photographer Margaret Bourke-White.
"Partition was the most tragic event in which 10 million were uprooted and 1 million slaughtered. We must never forget in the hope that this will teach us never to let it happen again," Khushwant Singh said at the launch.
While the village of Mano Majra may have existed only in Khuswant's imagination, the violence that ripped apart villages during the partition are very real.
White's lens captured the painful images of bloodbath and broken spirit of families during Partition.
And it's books like Train to Pakistan that some believe will purge the poison out of the veins
"Books like this talk to you. It tells you about your history about something that remains, the poison and how we can come together as neighbours," Pakistani activist Asma Jahangir said.
Half a century later, the book in its new form still carries the same message. And the message is to never forget the sacrifices and to never forget the pain.
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