Partition in 1947 drives Naila’s family to the new country of Pakistan while her best friend Lolo must remain in India. In a child’s-eye view of this world event, the significant concerns for these two nine-year-olds are custody of a tin box with important valuables (“marbles and flowers and keys and rings”), and the care and feeding of a pet rabbit Bholu. Lolo asks, “Can I come with you?” and “Who will I play with?” Naila answers the first, “You are Indian. You are not allowed.” But for the second, she has no answer.

As Naila prepares to leave her home, she must abandon her girlhood identity, pretending to be a boy, hoping that the subterfuge will provide some measure of safety. The only thing Lolo can give his departing friend is his name: “When they ask you your name, tell them it’s Lolo.” He accepts her bequest of childhood valuables and the care of her rabbit, and Naila becomes “Lolo” for the road to Pakistan.

The textures in the piano accompaniment serve to evoke the impending separation of the two friends, and their two countries. The simple harmonies during Naila’s instructions to Lolo represent the simplicity of their young lives as they once were. As Naila and Lolo end on a duet vocalise, they move away from each other, but their love for each other carries with 32nd note ripples on the wind.