About the Book:

Borders Bridges Belonging is a tale of two strikingly different worlds, and a journey through many layers of India - rural, small-town, urban, and global.

The story begins with a family of farmers leaving their land and finding a home along the border during the partition of India.

‘With curiosity, I asked for the location of Hindustan. To which came a loud response, ‘Fitte Muh, right here, where we are sleeping; where else do you think?’

With many migrations, strong faith in education and constant pursuit of dreams, brings the author from her village to the American heartland.

‘I grew up in a society that had embraced the darkness they had inherited, and

I was living in one which was burning its own houses down for light. Was there really no middle way?’

The book becomes a panoramic and personal view of many Indias that occasionally knock on the doorsteps of each other. It is a hope-inspiring tapestry that weaves the journey of a village family along with India's slow but upward growth in education, democracy, economy, and gender equality.

With its shares of chuckles and lighthearted moments to deep reflections, the journey becomes a moving memoir, showing how belonging to different Indias really feels. It leaves us meditating on the role we play in being a bridge to the other part.

About the Author:

Premlata Poonia grew up in the remote village of Likhmewala in Rajasthan, along the India-Pakistan border. With multiple migrations, she completed her BA from Maharani’s College, Jaipur, and her Masters from IMT Ghaziabad. Later, she moved to the United States to pursue an MBA at the University of Michigan, following which she lived and worked in the small town of Columbus in Indiana.

After a decade in the US, she returned to her village to start an initiative for girls’ education and empowerment, Hamari Laado. Borders Bridges Belonging is her first book.