Call Her Freedom

Schedule

Tue Feb 11 2025 at 06:30 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-08:00

Location

Clio's | Oakland, CA

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The story of a woman's struggle to protect family and home in a place afflicted with violence. Hear Tara Dorabji discuss her debut novel.
About this Event

A sweeping family saga following one woman’s struggle to protect her culture and her family amidst the backdrop of a military occupation.
In the foothills of the Himalayas, the picturesque mountain village of Poshkarbal is home to lush cherry and apple orchards and a thriving community—one divided by a patrolled border. Aisha and her mother Noorjahan live on the outskirts—two women alone in a world dominated by men. As the village midwife, Noorjahan teaches Aisha how to heal using local herbs and remedies. Isolated but content, Aisha is shocked when Noorjahan decides it is time for her to attend the village school as few girls do. Despite the taunting of her classmates and the teacher’s initial resistance to having her in the class, Aisha becomes a star student, destined for college.
When Aisha’s hand is bequeathed to a local boy in the village, she is forced to abandon her dreams of college. She comforts herself by staying on her ancestral land, creating a nourishing life with her children and husband. But her mother’s secrets come back to haunt her and her marriage and the growing military presence in Poshkarbal force Aisha to make impossible choices in order to save her family and preserve the independence Noorjahan fought for. What follows is a family chronicle brimming with life, love, and humor, about sacrifice and honor, and fighting for your home and culture in the face of occupation.
A deeply moving novel about one woman’s love for her family, this is an epic investigation of colonialism, militarization, and the loss and innocence on the journey to creating home. Spanning 1969 to 2022, Call Her Freedom is a love story that untangles family secrets and heals generational wounds, announcing Tara Dorabji as a thrilling new voice in fiction.

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Tara Dorabji is the author of , winner of the Simon & Schuster Books Like Us first novel contest. She is the daughter of Parsi-Indian and German-Italian migrants. Her documentary film series on human rights defenders in Kashmir won awards at over a dozen film festivals throughout Asia and the USA. Tara's publications include Al Jazeera, The Chicago Quarterly, Huizache, and acclaimed anthologies: Good Girls Marry Doctors & All the Women in My Family Sing. She lives in Northern California with her family and rabbit.


Originally from New Delhi, India, Uttara Chaudhuri is a 6th year PhD candidate in the English department at UC Berkeley. For her dissertation, she is writing an intellectual history of aesthetic labor in India from the late 19th to the late 20th century. She also serves on the board of directors for the New Literary Project, a Bay-Area based non-profit which builds literary eco-systems in underserved communities. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, going on walks, reading and watching Bollywood films.


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Where is it happening?

Clio's, 353 Grand Avenue, Oakland, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

USD 0.00 to USD 39.19

Clio's Books

Host or Publisher Clio's Books

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