Zara Chowdhary | The Lucky Ones: A Memoir
A Spotlight on the Gujarat Muslim Genocide (Book Talk)
Date: April 18, 2025
3:30 – 5:00 PM
223 Moses Hall, IIS Seminar Room, UC Berkeley
Presented by:
Institute for South Asia Studies & Center on Contemporary India
A powerful book talk with Zara Chowdhary, author of The Lucky Ones: A Memoir — a deeply moving reflection on her family’s survival during the 2002 Gujarat Muslim Genocide. With clarity and courage, Chowdhary offers an intimate look into the trauma, silence, resilience, and recovery experienced by India’s Muslim communities in the face of violence, displacement, and political betrayal.
Set against the backdrop of the 2002 pogrom in Gujarat, The Lucky Ones intertwines a multigenerational family’s history with the rise of Hindu nationalism and explores how memory, myth, and personal rebellion come together in the voice of a young woman determined to claim her land, family, and faith on her own terms.
Named one of TIME’s Ten Best Nonfiction Books of 2024, this memoir has also been featured in NPR, The Washington Post, Ms. Magazine, and The Caravan.
👩🏫 About the Speaker
Zara Chowdhary is a writer and lecturer in South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The Lucky Ones is her debut memoir and has been recognized widely for its searing honesty and literary grace.
🚗 Note: Parking in Berkeley is limited—please arrive early or use public transport.
🔔 For accessibility accommodations, contact Puneeta Kala at pkala@berkeley.edu at least 7–10 days in advance.