Roll of Honour
The second book of fiction, Roll of Honour, is out from Rupa Publications.
Quote: It is a chance that I was born to a certain family, or into a community, or a society, or a nation. But when I parade the dictates I inherited at birth – colour, religion, place, language, family, and other markers of identity – my birth becomes a joke, drawn out through my life. I wonder who laughs at it. For when I live like that or am willing to die for them, I feel like a caricature of what I could be …
One line summary: A story of the split loyalties of a Sikh boy in a boarding school in Punjab during the Khalistan movement and is based on the events of the year 1984: Operation Bluestar, Mrs. Gandhi’s assassination, riots …
Synopsis:
Then ex-student Balraj, now a Khalistani separatist on the run, takes refuge on campus and the violence outside comes to school. Some of the seniors decide to help Balraj, the decision splits the school along sectarian lines, and students are forced to take sides. There is rampant bullying — sodomy being the preferred tool of domination — and long-time friends find themselves on opposing sides. As the situation spirals out of control, Appu, who wants nothing more than to live his dreams, is forced to make the impossible choice between community and nation.
Here are some pictures of the activities around the book: album
To read Reviews and Interviews, click Home on the top panel or here.
Really, why don’t we get to the book now?
In India it is available from: Flipkart
and a bit cheaper and signed copies here: InfiBeam
For UK it is available here: Amazon UK
Punjabi Translation available here: Unistarbooks
Bless and Buy.