Episode 2 – Scent, Memory, and the Echoes of Partition

In this episode of Gateway Books by Crestance, we explore how history lingers in scent, memory, and the objects we carry. Aanchal Malhotra’s The Book of Everlasting Things is a sweeping novel of love torn apart by the Partition of India. We pair it with her nonfiction works, Remnants of Partition and Remnants of a Separation, which give voice to real people whose lives were forever changed in 1947. Through fiction and oral history, we discover how everyday items—letters, perfume bottles, fabric—become vessels of memory, testaments to both trauma and resilience.

Join host Cindy Cruz as we reflect on the human cost of borders and the lasting imprint of what we leave behind.