“Wadud’s story was entangled in the story of his nation, bookended by the two most important and bloody events in its history, its first birth at the time of independence from the British and the partition of East and West Bengal, and its second birth twenty-three years later, another independence and another partition: the Birth of Bangladesh. But in 1946, before either storm had fully erupted, Wadud was just a little boy, living with his family; adored by his two half-sisters, both old enough to be his mother, loved by his caring but often withdrawn mother, and most comfortable with his father who, being the most respectable Muslim leader – though not a politician – in the area, was hardly ever available to Wadud.”

Extract from ‘The River Flows Upstream’ – included in the showcase