About the Book

A POWERFUL COLLECTION OF STORIES SPANNING A TUMULTUOUS DECADE IN INDIA'S RECENT SOCIAL AND POLITICAL HISTORY.
Each of the six stories in this arresting volume cleverly captures the interplay between the personal and the political while exploring the everyday existence of Indians across different social strata.
A landowner contemptuous of political activism finds it taking root in his own home. A couple's holiday takes a surprising turn when they initiate a role-playing game. In a traditional akhara in northern India, caste drives the plot as much as the characters' will. A woman's marriage quickly morphs into an endless series of humiliations-until she decides to do something about it.
The tales are set in different parts of the country: a small town in Karnataka, a temple town and a village across the border in Kerala, cosmopolitan Chennai and Bengaluru, and a farm near Hathras in Uttar Pradesh. They explore a range of themes, from gender violence to pandemic lockdowns and cyber fraud, fusing incisive social commentary with deeply evocative emotional truths. In doing so, they take the reader on a transformative journey, both disturbing and memorable.

About the Author

Anita Nair is one of India's most acclaimed authors whose oeuvre ranges from literary fiction to noir to poetry to children's literature to translation. Her books have been translated into thirty-three languages around the world and have been adapted for audio, the stage and the screen.
Anita Nair is the recipient of several prizes and honours, including the Central Sahitya Akademi Award, the Crossword Prize and the National Film Award.
A High-Profile Supporter of the UNHCR, Anita Nair is the founder of the creative writing mentorship programme Anita's Attic which has mentored over 125 writers.