House of Caravans

DEBUT Toggling between India circa 1947 and 2002, Suneja’s evocative debut explores the violence wrought by the 1947 Partition. Two Hindu brothers, Barre Nanu and Chhote Nanu, come into adulthood in Lahore not long before the end of British colonial rule. Chhote has fallen in love not only with the idealism of an independent India but also with Nigar Jaan, an Anglo Indian Muslim sex worker. Chhote’s misguided attempt to kill Nigar’s British lover, a ruthless police superintendent, sets into motion a series of consequences that extend into the future. In 2002, Barre Nanu’s grandson Karan leaves the United States and returns to the family’s home in Kanpur to seek answers from his mother about his biological family. Though he has enlisted the support of his half-sister Ila, their mother steadfastly refuses to reveal their fathers’ identities, save that one is Hindu and the other Muslim. Estrangement from their great uncle Chhote following their grandfather Bare Nau’s death also challenges familial cohesion. Suneja’s depiction of the cruel, misogynistic practices tearing at the fabric of families is especially moving.