This is an exploration of borders through one family's personal odyssey from the violent upheaval of the Partition of India in 1947 to emigrating to the US. It delves into the psychological impact of leaving behind a past to recreate lives and identities anew.

Crossing Black Waters is an exploration of borders through one family's personal odyssey from the violent upheaval of the Partition of India in 1947 to emigrating to the U.S. The book delves into the psychological impact of leaving behind a past that keeps ""pulsating behind swinging shutters of thought"" to recreate lives and identities anew, and searches for ""home""--a ""lonely room in the [my] mind,"" a ""heartache"" at the ""end of rainbows,"" or else a fictitious ""country,"" built around ""hubs"" of friendships forged over ""glasses of wine and tandoori chicken."" A key phrase is ""I am knot""--the ""not"" of losing one's identity and family coupled with the idea that one cannot truly be separate and is ""knotted"" with the past and kin for life.