Foreign: A Novel

Foreign is a fiction novel based on the high-levels of farmer suicides in Vidarbha. The book begins in a small Indian village where a desperate farmer is about to commit suicide. Meanwhile on the other side of the world Katya Misra is celebrating in Seattle. She leads a successful academic life and has a teenage son named Kabir. Suddenly Katya is informed that her son has run away to India. She soon realises that Kabir wants to find his father whom he has never met before. Katya has a condescending attitude towards her mother country and so she is determined to bring back her son to the US.The mother eventually travels to an Indian village where every eight hours a farmer commits suicide. She realises that Kabir is living in the home of a suicidal farmer. Meanwhile the son has become inspired by his father who is deeply involved in selfless social work. Katya sticks to her plan to take Kabir back to America. She finds an ally in Gayatri Bai who is the wife of the suicidal farmer. The two women strike a deal with each other in which Gayatri Bai is to save Kabir’s life in exchange for Katya's help in stopping her husband from killing himself. Kabir and Katya find that their lives have now become intertwined with the fate of the farmer. Foreign will take readers into unfortunate circumstances mass weddings violent protest-rallies unfair social structures and more.This is the author’s debut novel which attempts to capture both sides of the equation. The narrative is intricately-written and highly revelatory. Foreign published by RHI in 2013 is available with hardcover binding.Key Features:Foreign was selected as a finalist for The Hindu Prize For Literature in 2013 and the Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize in 2013. It was also longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature in 2013.