The following collection of stories capture the quirks and eccentricities of everyday life. The author deftly moves between descriptions of life-changing events and moments of playfulness. Although, the characters often have to face difficult situations and make tough choices, they follow their heart. The diverse stories in this book are filled with wonder, excitement,curiosity, and intense emotions. Padmavati trusts her astrologer, but his predictions don’t always turn out to be true. In an unexpected twist, the astrologer is forced to acknowledge the failings of his craft. A son is forced to choose between his wife and his old mother. Who does he choose and is he happy with the outcome? A young woman comes into her own, as she moves away to study abroad, leaving her family behind.A Kashmiri boy leaves his family to join the ranks of militants and gets killed by the security forces. How does his family cope up with the choice he’s made? What does a family living close to India-Pakistan border go through when it is forced by severe cross border shelling to migrate to a makeshift camp in the hinterland in severe winter? These stories are a rollercoaster ride of love and laughter, misery and loss, acceptance and escape. These stories are about the choices that define human struggles and enable, in the process, the protagonists to find greater meaning and purpose in life. They focus on the dark and the beautiful, right and wrong, black and white, and all shades of grey in between. They are a tribute to the human spirit, an ode to the tireless struggles of ordinary men and women.
