To Surju, With Love

A transcreation of Jaiwanti Dimri s Hindi novella, Surju Ke Naam, this is the story of Sukurmani, a young woman who migrates to Bhutan with her four-year-old son, Surju, in search of livelihood, stability and peace. A Dumka tribal from Jharkhand, the one constant in her life is change as she crosses many borders from Ranchi in Jharkhand, to Kokrajhar to Darranga in Bodoland, to Bishalgarh in Tripura, to Rungthung and finally to Kanglung in east Bhutan to escape ethnic clashes, unrest and himsa, the omnipresent and many-faced violence which follows her. Set in the small, scenic hill town of Kanglung, much of the story is told through a dialogue between two women: Sukurmani and her Memsaab. Through her Memsaab s eyes, we get glimpses of Sukurmani s life, past and present. We witness her struggles to make ends meet as a single mother, an illiterate labourer and uninhibited tribal in an alien land. We also see her as a self-reliant, resilient woman living her own life with willful little Surju, who trails her like a shadow, a participant in all his mother s joys and sorrows. As the narrative unfolds, an unusual bond forms between these two different women: two Indian expatriates, one legal and one illegal. A poignant and thought-provoking story simply told, it lingers even after the last word is read.