This is the story of Chachcho and Lalna and their much talked-about friendship. Chachcho lives with her frigid husband in the Husband in Laburnum House, a cluster of a hundred or more houses that share a common roof. She leads a lonely life until she takes in Lalna, who's been dumped by her husband. Their closeness makes many uncomfortable. Then suddenly one day, Lalna has to leave, to return only after Chachcho's passing. There are rumors and there is gossip in the neighborhood while Chachcho's nephew tries to piece together his memories of the two women, one of whom is his mother. The truth he is searching for could destroy him forever, but to not find out is no longer an option. A beautifully crafted story with many twists and turns, The Roof Beneath Their Feet is easily one of the best contemporary Hindi novels you have read in a long time. Show More Show Less
Author
Geetanjali Shree गीताजंली क्ष्री (She was known as Geentanjali Pandey, and she took her mother's first name Shree as her last name) (born 1957) is a Hindi novelist and short story writer based in New Delhi, India. She is the author of several short stories and three novels. Mai was short listed for the Crossword Book Award in 2001. She has also written a critical work on Premchand. Her first story, Bel Patra (1987) was published in the literary magazine Hans and was followed by a collection of short stories Anugoonj (1991) The English translation of her novel Mai catapulted her into fame. The novel is about three generations of women and the men around them, in a North Indian middle-class family. Mai is translated into Serbian, Korean and German. It has been translated into English by Nita Kumar, who was awarded the Sahitya Akademi award for the translation. It has been also translated into Urdu by Bashir Unwan with preface by Intizar Hussain. Furthermore, it has been translated into other languages: into French by Annie Montaut, into German by Reinhold Schein... Her second novel Hamara Shahar Us Baras set loosely after the incidents of Babri Masjid demolition.
