VEENA AND THE RED ROTI

A child’s world is upended during India’s Partition.

Veena loves her family’s kitchen, a place “full of warmth and words.” She especially adores the buttery, round rotis that the women in her family make using local grains. She practices, and although her first attempts are misshapen, she’s soon able to make perfectly round rotis. Everything changes when India wins its independence from Great Britain and is subsequently partitioned into two countries—India and Pakistan—divided along religious lines. While many believe nothing will change, her father presciently declares, “India will no longer be the same.” Sure enough, Veena and her family are forced to flee their home in the middle of the night. They end up in a refugee camp, where they eat strangely hard, red rotis. Veena heads to the camp kitchen, where she finds a sense of belonging as she makes rotis. When Veena and her family finally relocate to Delhi, India, she brings her rotis and the memories they hold into a brand-new kitchen and life. Inspired by the author’s grandparents’ experiences, this picture book provides a tender, optimistic look at one of the subcontinent’s darkest chapters. Though the book includes a map, readers may initially find it unclear whether Veena and her family are crossing into Pakistan or India. Still, the tale has a strong, specific emotional core, enhanced by gentle earth-toned images that leaven the often difficult subject matter.

A moving celebration of cultural and personal resilience.