About The Book

In a culture described as 'punctuated by question marks', what is the role of women? Is she a meal ticket? A punching bag? A caretaker for old parents, offspring etc.? A business deal maker? The working partner? The third wheel? Or a person in her own right—holding on to her space, her identity while countering intimidation? 

Kusum Choppra's hitherto untold stories, tongue-in-cheek or serious, offer insights into the functioning of women's minds: Of different approaches to life after a divorce; Of the greedy exploitation of the widows of Kargil's martyrs; Of a sister fighting for inheritance to protect her mother from her brother; Of a burnt bride fighting her way back to life and emotional freedom; Of a simple village woman protecting her aged in-laws from the greed of her husband and his new wife; Of widows grasping at their slices of life. And why not? Of a challenge to Pati Parmeshwar's right to select surrogates! 

The stories are of women surviving their ordeals to move on in life.

About the Author

A life trajectory through Singapore, Jakarta, Pune, Delhi and Ahmedabad, myriad experiences in alternate medicine, environment conservation, handicrafts, history, numerology plus three odd decades in journalism provide Kusum Choppra with a rich background for writing from women's viewpoints; picking out grains of truth to tell stories that set aside patriarchal inculcation, for a female perspective. 

Two novels: a post-Partition generational saga Beyond Diamond Rings, and a historical novel that blasted many myths, Mastani, preceded this anthology of stories that delve into the internal conversations women often have with themselves about people, places and emotional encounters. Author photo credit: Ms Sana Mian.