A guest with epic gastric trouble, the besieged political
campaigner, the cruel critic, the secret murderer, the
homophobic ruffians, the reluctant nude model, the
talking dog, the frustrated illustrator, the grandfather who
pined for the home he lost . . .
Gautam Benegal’s short stories are peopled with characters
we almost recognize – a neighbour, an uncle, a niece – bringing
alive the Calcutta of the early ’90s. There is an old-world
charm to the world he creates, but one that is shot through
with darkness. There is a political pulse running through the
whole, informed by Benegal’s own preoccupations with gender
and class, and his keen interest in people and the workings of
their minds. Yet, there is a lightness of touch here, a desire to
engage the reader in a story, or indeed a twist in the tale.
About The Author:
Gautam Benegal, writer, national awardwinning
animation film-maker, cartoonist
and artist grew up in Calcutta. The milieu
he explores in this book is of Calcutta in
the early 1990s. He has been associated
with various publications as a freelance
columnist and illustrator from the age of
sixteen, starting with Sandesh where he
was invited by Satyajit Ray to contribute
