FAREWELL MAHATMA

One day before he is assassinated Gandhi steps out of Birla House into newly independent Delhi wanting his approaching death to be a final redemptive message; Sasi begins to clean up the crime scene after her lover leaves to arrange for the disposal of her husband's body but suddenly the wall clock begins to tick backwards setting off a dramatic reversal of events; resurrected from death by her brother Nallathangaal roams the forests with her seven children for decades until the love of a carousel man frees her from the curse; Cheenu returns to his beloved wife to find that the years of warped urges in jail have changed him irrevocably. Farewell Mahatma brings together ten tales that introduce us to the brilliance and distinctiveness of Devibharathi's imagination and craft. These stories explore the dark and dichotomous realities of our history and present our social and individual lives deeply probing themes such as freedom need desire and the volatile spaces between man and woman. At once unnerving and illuminating these are short stories at their best.