The Other Side Of Light

Book excerpt: One woman, two lovers, three best friends ... The gift of an old camera sends young Asha careening in an unconventional direction. The call of photography makes her leave her family, her home, her friends and the intriguing Kabir to spend a year in a Swiss village learning to see the world through a lens. But, back in Delhi, there is a price to pay. Life has moved on. Her three friends have wandered in new directions and her father is ill. Kabir has found new purpose in Assam. Asha's search for love sends her on travels that culminate in a shocking turn of events she must learn to navigate. In the background, a country too changes shape: the Emergency locks India into strife, the riots of 1984 unleash a dormant savagery, and separatist violence menaces Assam. Amidst the chaos, Asha finds the threads of a new beginning that once again will take her away from the land she loves. Interwoven story lines unfold seamlessly as Asha packs away the photographs she took at key points in her life. Seeing and handling her past as captured through the craft she loves provokes a recollection that she hopes will allow her to let go for good.