BENA'S SUMMER Paperback

Shibal Bhartiya's Bena's Summer is a poignant and evocative novel that captures the idyllic yet ultimately fractured childhood of eight-year-old Benazir, affectionately known as Bena, in a small North Indian town. Surrounded by a loving joint family and simple pleasures like jalebis and raw mangoes, Bena's world is initially one of protected innocence. However, this bubble bursts during one fateful summer when she becomes an unwitting witness to the horrors of communal riots, death, destruction, and abuse. The book sensitively portrays how a child processes such traumatic events in a setting where adults expect them to forget, yet Bena, with her inherent grit and audacity, refuses to be defined by silence. Through her eyes, the novel beautifully interweaves the warmth of familial bonds with the chilling realities of violence, offering a powerful narrative about resilience and the enduring impact of what children see and experience.