Rebirth Across Borders: Aging,
Partition Memory, and Feminist Selfhood in Geetanjali
Shree’s Tomb of Sand
Revathi Yerramsetti¹ & Prof. B.
Karuna²
ABSTRACT
Geetanjali Shree’s novel Tomb of Sand (2022) shows
how an old woman finds a new sense of self. The protagonist, Ma, an
80-year-old widow, navigates profound loss, resurfacing memories,
and a transformative change. This paper analyses Ma’s change in
three steps. First, she rejects the conventional widowhood norms
that society expects widows to stay quiet and secluded. Ma says no
to that and claims her own power. Second, she goes back to
Partition-traumatized places, where she confronts long-repressed
anguish. Third, she makes relational bonds, which go beyond family
rules and country borders. The paper uses ideas from feminist aging
studies, colonial trauma theory, and transnational feminism. Ma’s
new sense of self emerges from caring for others, historical
confrontation, and border crossing solidarity. Ultimately, the novel
reconfigures how we see old age, women, and life after colonies. It
connects and individual’s growth to the enduring wounds of nation.
Tomb of Sand makes aging a story of memory, empathy, and expansive
human connections.
Keywords: Old-age self, feminist aging, partition memory, colonial
trauma, aging identity.
