The Undocumented follows one family’s journey from Bangladesh to India after Cyclone Aila, exploring migration, identity and survival. Drawn from thirteen years of fieldwork by Nidhi Dugar Kundalia.
The Undocumented by Nidhi Dugar Kundalia offers a rare and intimate account of migration from Bangladesh to India. In May 2009, Cyclone Aila tore through the Sundarbans of Bangladesh, swallowing everything Safrat had built: her land, her livestock, her livelihood. What it left behind was not a choice but an ultimatum: stay and slowly disappear or cross the border into India.
About The Undocumented
The Undocumented follows Safrat and her two children, Nur and Nabeel, as they journey from the delta’s edge to Kolkata, shedding names, faith and identities to survive. It is the story of a border crossed and an identity hidden, but also of a family struggling to remain together even as it fractures from within. Drawn from thirteen years of fieldwork on the fringes of a Kolkata slum—years spent earning trust and reading silences—this Vintage Books hardback explores why people leave their homes, how they cross into a strange land, and what it takes to build a life on the other side. Few accounts make migration feel as intimate as this one. Through one family’s journey, Nidhi Dugar Kundalia explores what happens when survival demands that you leave behind not just your home, but parts of your identity. Publisher details: ISBN 9789377304645, hardback, 264 pages, published August 2026. See the official page on Penguin Random House India.
Browse more titles in our New Arrivals collection at Bookshop Near Me, Sri Lanka.
About the Author
Nidhi Dugar Kundalia is a journalist and author whose work illuminates lives at the margins of power and privilege. Her previous books include The Lost Generation and White as Milk and Rice, both published by Penguin Random House India.
