Such a long journey

“There is a saying,‘A woman is like a tea bag. You know her strength only after you dip her in hot water.’ And my book Remembering the Juice Mango tells the story of one such woman Ratna,whose life is transformed as a direct consequence of a defining moment — the Partition of India,’’ Neena Kahlon talks about the essence of her novel which was released today at an event organized by the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi. The novel deals with the plight of forgotten victims of war and talks about the collateral damage and sufferings of women and children as a result of any human conflict. Neena’s personal experience and its effects is the inspiration iration of the book,“my family belonged to Okara in West Punjab and after Partition they settled in Amritsar. They too bore the brunt of Partition like countless others who suffered the trauma of the tragedy,’’ Neena,who now lives in the US,has an old association with Chandigarh,having done her Master’s in English literature from Panjab University. The journey of nine-year-old Ratna,who treads the path towards personal growth though love and healing will surely touch many hearts…