As he says, July 17 -- As someone who has worked on writing stories on the interconnectedness of the world for the last decade, now researching kinship in East and West Punjab through material cultures, I was immediately drawn to Pakistani-origin writer Shueyb Gandapur's inspiration to travel the world, particularly 'the other side' - my home country, India, at the Khushwant Singh Festival held at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, in June 2025.

I was also drawn to his quest for making connections through intergenerational knowledge and passed-on memory as he speaks about his grandfather's trading business in pre-partitioned India and his fascination with oral stories and popular culture, which resonated with my personal...