![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() That morning, Pirbhai had watched his ma ask the gods for forgiveness, praying over his middle sister, whose bones clacked as though loose inside her skin. His lips cracked and blood pulsed on his stained teeth. When Pirbhai pointed to the white buds bursting across a field, the man laughed until he coughed. Do you see any rice, any grain? Dry, all dry. Look around you, dikro, the man had muttered. Today the landowner barely raised his eyes, and he knew he was probably one of many boys turned away. ![]() By foot, or sometimes hitching a ride on the back of a cart, he wandered the streets, pleading for work. For as long as he could remember, every day was the same. He eased himself onto a step by the water’s edge, letting his chappals graze the foam. The heat was a dry beast, scorching the fields yellow as gora hair. The last day Pirbhai spent in Gujarat was ignited by a sun that could not last. (Courtesy) Book excerpt: 'A History of Burning' The cover of "A History of Burning" by Janika Oza. The book follows four generations of a family who settles in Uganda in the early 20th century but is forced to leave when Ugandan dictator Idi Amin orders the expulsion of Asians in 1972. Host Deepa Fernandes speaks with "A History of Burning" author Janika Oza. ![]()
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