When Mihika, 56 and a widow, gets drawn into a relationship with Zuhayr, a
60-year-old divorcee who was her late husbandAditya's friend, it doesn't seem to
her like an event that should cause more than a raised eyebrow or two. Not in the
twenty-first century, and not when their grown-up children are happy that their
parents have found a second chance at happiness.
But inTinigaon-a small town inAssam-it is just not done for a woman of
Mihika's age to have a romantic relationship-that, too, with a man from the
Other Religion: a Muslim.Tinigaon's Old Guard is scandalized as Mihika and
Zuhayr are seen together in restaurants and cinema halls, 'flaunting' their affair.
And a nosy neighbour, Ranjana, keeps the moral brigade busy with juicy details of
Zuhayr's late-night comings and goings from Mihika's house.
Mihika decides to ignore the gossipmongering and slander and remain true to her
relationship with Zuhayr, who has filled a void in her life afterAditya's death five
years ago.As long as her four closest friends, Tara, Triveni, Shagufta and Pallavi,
stand by her, she doesn't care if others turn away. But when the gossip turns
into something more sinister that could threaten her daughterVeda's happiness,
Mihika is forced to take a call-should she give up the man she loves for her
daughter's sake, or is there an alternative that could give them both what they
want?
Writing with great sensitivity and gentle humour, Mitra Phukan proves once
again that she is an extraordinary chronicler of the human heart. Rooted, like all
her fiction, in the culture and sensibilities ofAssam, What Will People Say? speaks
to all of us, wherever we are, whoever we are.
