Aashish 1926-2034

AASHISH 1926-2034 BOOK DESCRIPTION In 1947 Aashish Kumar Chhatuvedi, a Punjabi Hindu, is twenty years old. A recent college graduate and a newlywed deeply in love with his wife, Tulsa, Aashish is looking forward to a happy life. Abruptly a huge part of India, including his family village near Lahore, is torn away to create Muslim Pakistan. In the Hindu-Muslim violence that follows, with part of his family murdered, Aashish flees with his wife, his father, and his Bua (his father’s sister) across the border to a refugee camp near Khajuraho in central India. There he faces the twin challenges of assuming leadership of his family and forging his life into a force for a healthier and more peaceful planet. Always at the center of his life is Aashish’s seventy-seven-year, sometimes turbulent, always passionate, love affair with Tulsa. AASHISH 1926-2034 is the story of his long life told in his own words, and those of his Bua and others, and including a utopian vision by Kiran Verma, poet laureate of Khajuraho. The story has been brought together by his son, Anil, as Aashish’s personal journal covered only the period from his wedding night until his wife’s death. He wrote nothing after that. The story ends with Anil’s glowing tribute to his father. WarrenHall Crain 25 November 2013 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan