Book excerpt: A slice of life from the heartland of India, with all its feudal glory and faults, can at once be captivating and revolting. But then this is what life is all about. In a sprawling family with its grand customs, illusions and notions, there grows a soul that is sensitive and simple that looks at life as a beautiful experience quite unlike the tradition-bound existence that the feudal patriarch expects it to be. But then it is not easy for a delicate flower to bloom in the dry, often blood-stained ravines where family love has little meaning before a loyalty to traditions and rage can be kept subdued for generations but ready to erupt for settling age-old scrores. The story of Chandra Kirti, the delicate daughter born in a feudal lord's family, and her tribulations at being straight and normal, is a heart-warming and heart-wrenching tale. From the politics of gun to the scourge of terrorism, from breaking of taboos to the unfounded scare of HIV infection, Chandra sees them all, always wondering, worrying and loving. The people in her life are no less struck by the turn of events. The epicenter of the story is the arid ravines of Madhya Pradesh but the twists are as much universal as the travails of women anywhere else in the world. Coming from the pen of an award-winning writer, who is also an accomplished surgeon, it is a haunting story that reveals the layers of love, affection, duplicity, false sense of pride and the enduring spirit of hope that keeps life alive.