On 7 December 1992, Bhopal descends into chaos as angry mobs disrupt a government official’s tranquil commute to work. The harrowing aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya a day earlier casts a shadow over the city, thrusting its inhabitants into a maelstrom of fear and uncertainty. Against the backdrop of flames licking the sky, and polarised mobs drowning out pleas for peace, a gripping saga unfolds, laying bare the violent rupture of communitarian harmony in Bhopal.
The tightly-packed narrative of this novel—enclosed within four tumultuous days and nights—provides a riveting frame for its events and characters, all set within and around the sprawling campus of a telephone exchange. This exchange, like the characters in the novel, stands on the blurred borderline between Bhopal’s old and newer neighbourhoods.
Drawing upon his own experiences manning a State-owned telephone exchange in Bhopal, his home town, during those turmoil-filled days, Anupam Shrivastava delves into the very essence of borders and the valiant efforts of a determined few to resist their confining limits. More than anything else, this daring and deeply human novel is about both the strengths and perils of identity. It explores not just the psychological and social factors behind the tensions that often arise between communities but also the values and traditions that, just as often, resist these tensions.
