Publish with Us

Follow Penguin

Follow Penguinsters

Follow Penguin Swadesh

In Times Of Siege

In Times Of Siege

Githa Hariharan
Select Preferred Format
Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback
Ebooks

What makes a fanatic? A fundamentalist? What makes communities that have lived together for years suddenly discover a hatred for each other?

New Delhi, in the year 2000. Staff meetings, lesson modules, a half-hearted little affair with a colleague-this is the bland but comfortable life of Shiv Murthy, a history teacher in an open university. But disruption and change are on their way-an outspoken young woman with a broken knee comes into his life and turns it upside-down; then Hindu zealots attack his writings on Basava, the reformer-poet. When fundamentalism lands on his own doorstep, Shiv discovers that the ideas he has inherited-about history, nations and patriots-are liable to shrink day by day. The time of siege is not exclusively Indian-prejudice speaks different languages but has the same destructive message: ‘Only trust those of your kind.’ With love, lust and a perverted nationalism at his heels, Shiv is forced to confront the demands of his times and choose a direction for the future. But first, he must come to terms with his own incomplete past, his fears, and his obsession with a woman who will give him the strength he seeks.

Imprint: India Penguin

Published: Oct/2018

ISBN: 9780143066217

Length : 216 Pages

MRP : ₹250.00

In Times Of Siege

Githa Hariharan

What makes a fanatic? A fundamentalist? What makes communities that have lived together for years suddenly discover a hatred for each other?

New Delhi, in the year 2000. Staff meetings, lesson modules, a half-hearted little affair with a colleague-this is the bland but comfortable life of Shiv Murthy, a history teacher in an open university. But disruption and change are on their way-an outspoken young woman with a broken knee comes into his life and turns it upside-down; then Hindu zealots attack his writings on Basava, the reformer-poet. When fundamentalism lands on his own doorstep, Shiv discovers that the ideas he has inherited-about history, nations and patriots-are liable to shrink day by day. The time of siege is not exclusively Indian-prejudice speaks different languages but has the same destructive message: ‘Only trust those of your kind.’ With love, lust and a perverted nationalism at his heels, Shiv is forced to confront the demands of his times and choose a direction for the future. But first, he must come to terms with his own incomplete past, his fears, and his obsession with a woman who will give him the strength he seeks.

Buying Options
Paperback / Hardback
Ebooks

Githa Hariharan

Githa Hariharan has written novels, short fiction and essays over the last three decades. Her highly acclaimed works include The Thousand Faces of Night, which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book in 1993; the short story collection The Art of Dying; the novels The Ghosts of Vasu Master, When Dreams Travel, In Times of Siege, Fugitive Histories and I Have Become the TIde; and a collection of essays titled Almost Home: Cities and Other Places.

Hariharan has, over the years, been a cultural commentator through her essays, lectures and activism. In 1995, she challenged the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act as discriminatory against women. The case, Githa Hariharan and Another vs Reserve Bank of India and Another, led to a landmark Supreme Court judgment in 1999 on guardianship.

For more on the author and her work, see githahariharan.com

More By The Author

The Art Of Dying

The Art Of Dying

Githa Hariharan
When Dreams Travel

When Dreams Travel

Githa Hariharan
Fugitive Histories

Fugitive Histories

Githa Hariharan

In Times of Siege – an Excerpt

Staff meetings, lesson modules, a half-hearted little affair with a colleague-this is the bland but comfortable life of Shiv Murthy, a history teacher in an open university. But disruption and change are on their way-an outspoken young woman with a broken knee comes into his life and turns it upside-down. Read In Times of Siege […]

error: Content is protected !!