On a bright yellow square flower pot with rounded edges is a succulent plant with a bunch of pink flowers atop each gracefully protruding stem. Called Crown of Thorns, this untamed foliage sits amid a lush green lawn catching rays of sunlight on different points at different times of the day. Sen enjoys this elegant mix of colours that’s visible on three sides from his house windows and from the entry walkway.
When India was partitioned 1947 to create Pakistan, a new country for Muslims, about 20 million people of Bengal and Punjab were displaced and brutally victimized. Sen’s wealthy, literate family had huge landed property in erstwhile East Bengal, the present Bangladesh, which was carved out to be East Pakistan for Muslims. So for being Hindus Sen’s family was overnight evicted from their home. Without taking any possessions, they fled for their lives amidst people warring over religion, and so became squatted refugees in West Bengal.
