Aftertaste

Diwali 1984. Mummyji the matriarch of a prosperous mithai business family lies comatose in a Bombay hospital. Manipulative determined and seemingly invincible Mummyji has held together her family through bribes of money endless food and adoration. Surrounding her are her four children: the weak and ineffectual Rajan Papa who is desperately in need of cash; Sunny the dynamic head of the business with an ugly marriage and a demanding mistress; Suman the spoilt beauty of the family who is determined to get her hands on Mummyji s best jewels; and Saroj Suman s unlucky sister who has always lived in her shadow. Each one of them wants Mummyji to die. Aftertaste tells the story of one business family and its bitter dynamics: of resentful bahus emasculated sons controlling mothers-in-law and rapacious siblings. For at the heart of family lies money not love. Full of rare period details and insights into the world of Baniya families Aftertaste is worldly astute and utterly riveting.