Book excerpt: In this novel the author draws back the curtains on a deeply felt and ongoing tradition. Through the eyes of the main character, Geeta, she goes behind the scenes into a way of life that has long been shrouded in mystery. When Geeta, an educated, outgoing young woman from Bombay, marries into a staunchly traditional family, she suddenly finds herself forced to live in purdah in her husband's ancient home, the haveli. Unable to escape from the conservative customs that now define her life, she struggles to hold on to the modern values she has grown to cherish. Can she discover new meaning and dignity in what at first seems to her a strange and stultifying existence?