Backflap

Sometimes the quietest moments carry the loudest truths. In this book, author Vandana Kumari Jena peels back the layers of everyday life to reveal the hidden struggles, secrets, and courage that define us. Here, nothing is what it seems. A birthday marks the beginning of the end, a neighbour hides more than gossip, an ordinary home turns into a stage for a final performance. By turns poignant, chilling and quietly defiant, these 24 stories do not soothe. They disturb, provoke and linger.

This is the story of how the beloved theme park Imagicaa in Maharashtra was pulled back from the brink of collapse. In 2018, it turned into a non-performing asset. Within no time, a lender dragged the company to the National Company Law Tribunal courts. When newly appointed CEO Dhimant and CFO Mayuresh received the NCLT summons, they were taken aback. The project was the realisation of a long-held dream, and it needed to be protected from a dire fate: insolvency, or a possible lockout of India’s “best theme park”.

Saranyu is wedded to Vivasvan, lord of the Sun. Blinded by his radiance, she forges her own shadow, and in doing so, sets into motion a cosmic conflict between light and darkness, duty and desire. Saranyu’s journey becomes one of self-discovery. Torn between brilliance and shade, she reclaims her voice, her power, and her place in the order of the cosmos. The book reimagines her not as a consort, but as a creator, a mother, and the unseen force behind the rhythm of existence.

Written over three decades, these stories highlight the themes, issues and motifs of the largely syncretic life of the Kashmiri people. The tales are set against the socio-cultural backdrop of the place and its people. From love at first sight to an archaeological longing for Kashmir’s glorious past, the author touches upon varied themes. The stories are in equal parts brooding and light-hearted, despondent and hopeful.