Aru and Rohit get married and settle down into the life of a working couple in a big city. Aru, still coming to terms with her mother Sumi’s death in a road accident and her father Gopal’s desertion of the family prior to that, remains the force that binds the lives of her sisters and her aunts. But tragedy strikes the family again, in the form of a devastating act of terrorism and a heinous crime, and Aru has to face some of her life’s toughest moments.

Shadow Play is a masterful meditation on kinship, marriage, ambition and the changing face of urban India. Filled with a memorable cast of characters, it also tells the story of Kasturi, trying to find understanding and peace after enduring extreme cruelty and heartbreak; Kalyani, who atones for the wrongs society deals its women by an act of generosity in her death; and Gracy, Tressa and Ramu, a family torn asunder by a senseless act of violence.

In Shadow Play, one of India’s most respected and accomplished novelists has produced a work that is deeply humane and contemplative—as much about the ephemeral nature of human life as it is about the enduring relationships that give it meaning.

This book is out of print and will no longer be available in Aleph editions.