The Indian Mate

The Indian Mate: A Journey from Namaste to Howrya by Divesh Sareen

Overview

The two volumes of The Indian Mate relive a story of people who left everything that they’ve ever known behind to create a better future for themselves and their loved ones. People who are from two different countries, but don’t fully belong to either; people who realize that their lives in two different countries have forged a new identity for them. These volumes cover the journey from Namaste to Howrya.

Volume 1

In 1947, India became independent but was divided into two nations, forever changing the country and the lives of its inhabitants. The Indian Mate: Volume 1 charts the journey of one such family caught in the middle of the biggest migration in human history, along with around 14 million others who were forced to live in an uncertain world after Partition, among civil unrest and countless deaths.

Forced to adapt and survive, people fled their homes and did whatever they could to build something new. Entrenched in their faith, and through hard work, a new chapter in the country’s history was unveiled, and the spirit of the people flourished anew. But with a stark divide between the haves and the have-nots, many families found it difficult to stay afloat amid the clash of Eastern and Western cultures prevalent in the country.

Born to one such family, Divesh narrates the turbulent journey through independence to modern times while growing up in a middle-class family. With the dream of a better life, and the seeds of immigration planted at a young age, the book captures his experiences from a child to an adult and his efforts to move to Australia, a country with new possibilities for him and his loved ones. A place to start anew!

Volume 2

The Indian Mate: Volume 2 uncovers a unique Australian experience through the eyes of an NRI (Non-Resident Indian) who later became an Australian citizen.

With crushing expectations, $1000 and a bag full of dreams (his own and his family’s), Divesh sets foot in Australia. Despite feelings of homesickness and isolation, he is determined to complete his Masters in IT. As he gets stuck into his studies, he is taken aback by how different the Aussie culture is.

Needing to integrate himself, Divesh had to learn the customs of the country – how to walk, talk, think and act like an Aussie. It was all very new to him, yet he embraced the journey – to learn and share along the way.

Between his part-time jobs and studies, Divesh had very few emotional ties. He was wholly consumed by his work and initial goal of saving around $150,000 that would allow his family to join him in Australia. So, it was wholly unexpected when one day on the V/Line train, he met an Australian woman, who became his strength as he navigated through the cultural and personal struggles.

Divesh did his best to balance the difficulties of being a foreigner with the exciting opportunities of finding success and happiness in Australia and his Indian heritage. While navigating through two different worlds, he felt he was not Australian enough in Australia, and not Indian enough when visiting India. Yet, this dual identity allowed him to overcome the insurmountable challenges he faced and build the life he once dreamed of.

The Indian Mate Poem - Forged from two different nations

A conflict no one wanted
Hurt that never seemed to end
A country torn in two
Wounds that festered and did not mend
Forced to abandon their land and home
Families and lives ripped apart
All suffered, even those who survived
With shattered souls and broken hearts
Divide and rule was enacted
To survive meant to leave
The biggest human forced migration
Underdogs rising till they can breathe
The world gave up on them
Expecting nothing more
But their only purpose
Was to change it all
Time passed but dreams did not
Unwilling to play rich and poor
Some started an unknown journey
Searching for a new shore
Climbing the mountain
To lay the path and answer the call
Seeing only their purpose
They suffered through it all
With lives in two places now
But neither feeling true
They became foreigners
In their old land and the new
Their own thought they had forgotten them
But they reunited generations
A hybrid breed arose
Forged from two different nations
The world is confused
Questioning in which land they belong
It doesn’t realise
They now belong to both