Book: Mother India
Author: Prayaag Akbar
Publisher: Fourth Estate
The story brilliantly captures what it means to be young and alive in today’s India.
Author Prayaag Akbar says, “Mother India began as a story of a young man who falls abruptly and silently in love. It changed over the years as my growing concerns over the impact of technology on our inner lives began to creep into the novel. It was important to think about how Mayank and Nisha might respond to this ever-changing landscape, nothing standing still, where our urban and non-urban environments are constantly under threat, and even our most private thoughts seem to be studied by algorithms.”
Associate Publisher Rahul Soni says, “Mother India is a novel that deals with big themes and timely themes in an incredibly sure-footed, light-handed way – a novel that speaks to and illuminates our times.”
About the Book
Mother India is the story of two young people living in contemporary Delhi. Plodding away to make a decent living despite a middling education, Mayank is employed in a right-wing content creator’s dingy basement studio. Nisha recently moved to the city from her small town in the hills and worked as a salesgirl for expensive Japanese chocolate in an upscale mall.
When Mayank discovers Nisha beaming off her Instagram like a beacon, he is smitten, and the video clip he devises for his studio has significant consequences for them both.
Sparkling and unexpected, Prayaag Akbar’s new novel brilliantly captures what it means to be young and alive in today’s India.
