India Was One by an Indian

Publisher:  CreateSpace
Pages:  368
Genre:  Adult Historical Fiction
Source:  Review copy from author

Extended Description from Smashwords:

…Suddenly, he saw something shiny at the bottom of the abyss. He squinted his eyes to see what it was. He ran back to his binoculars and turned them to see what it was. Sharp barbed wires that separated the two mountains came into focus. He had come as far as he could in his country. But she was standing in another country.
He was in South India and she was in North India…
Have you ever imagined India being divided into two countries? What happens to the millions of Indians who are from South India but are now residing in North India? Kaahi & Jai were two such people who got trapped in this situation. Everything was going smoothly for them and suddenly, their world turned upside down.  How will they get together? Will India become one again?
Take an exciting journey with them from their college days in Mumbai to their life in the US and back to India when they find out that India is divided.

My Thoughts:

When asked to review this book I agreed in part because over the last two years in my schoo,l our Indian population has grown.  As an IB global school we have been given glimpses into their culture.   This book filled in a lot of the missing details.  We meet Jai and Kaahi.  These two young people come from two different areas of India.  Their cultures also differ somewhat.  They fall in love and get married.  The very interesting thing is that all through this book you learn interesting facts about India.  They have very bright and colorful weddings where the festivities last for days.  White is worn for funerals.  Completely opposite of here, in America.  I like their reasoning better.  Color expresses so much and I agree.  After they are married they move to LA where they encounter another culture.  As they are beginning to settle in to their new life, things back home start to go bad.  The country is divided politically into North and South and they travel back to check on family members.  They must separate as one of them is from the North, and the other is from the South.  The underlying message from this is to let us know that love conquers all and that no matter what the differences are, people can still find ways to unite.  Maybe this is a lesson we need to be reminded of here in the USA.