In continuum physics, there is a category of materials called “materials with memory”. These materials often “remember” their past, which influences their present. Just like these materials with memory, the kyon (brass alloy) bowls of Ashok Talwar have their own memories. They remind you of a time when India and Pakistan were undivided, a time when kyon bowls from West Pakistani households like Talwar’s were regularly sent to the polishers for kadi (polishing), in order to keep them shiny and in shape. They also remind you of the violence and sorrow of the Partition and the Talwar’s subsequent journey to the newly formed India, in the trunks packed by his family as they hurriedly left their ancestral home.