No Way Back Home: The Unexpected Life of a Czech Family in India (1938-1977)

In 1938 when faced with a decision to work at a shoe company in India or stay in Czechoslovakia and wait for another war Miki Hruskas newly married parents opted to move thinking they would return home in a few years. But they would not be able to return home for another four decades; instead home became Calcutta where they raised their family and established a business during a parade of turbulent social and political events. The ill-planned departure of the British from India and their bungled attempts at Partition engendered riots and killings that brought bloodshed to the familys front door. And when the Communists took over the government of West Bengal they brought labour disruptions that made it next to impossible to operate the family business. This riveting family memoir is set during the cataclysmic events of WWII and its aftermath giving a harrowing yet heartwarming portrait of life for a migrant Czech family and showing how perseverance and love can sustain people through the darkest of times.