A literary appreciation:ROOTS [Bella Mariya Babu; Bsc Maths; 20umat3707]

 The story roots by Ismat Chughtai takes place during the partition of India and Pakistan. The close relationship between the two families, a Muslim family and a Hindu family, is tested in the wake of partition. The story throws light on questions of nationality. The central beauty of the story lies in the use of literary devices.

• "Between these two flags there was a chasm miles wide"
• "The house on the other side seemed as far removed as a fleeting cloud in the distant sky"

The partition disturbed the harmony between these two families. Eventhough the houses were close to one another, the mindset of the family members had become distant.

• "Time passed on, but Amma stayed steadfast  in here position like a banyan tree that stands upright through storms and blizzards"

The members of the Muslim family decides to leave to Pakistan but Amma refuses and stubbornly stays back in India. Because she believed that her roots lie in India.

• "She had nursed the crop with her heart's blood through fifty years and that day it had been exiled from its own land to find a new land"
• " Who knows whether the new soil will be conducive to the saplings or make the wilt"

Amma spent her whole life for the family. She is afraid whether her family will be able to survive the journey. At the end, her neighbor Roopchandji brings back her children from Loni railway station and Amma heaves a sigh of relief. The story highlights the triumph in the face of love in communal hatred.