Manual for a Decent Life

The year is 1996. A principled and spirited woman sets her sights on becoming a member of Parliament. When and how does she get there? The story unfolds through the perspectives of two dramatically contrasting characters whose lives become tragically entangled. Waheeda is a thirty-two-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh who enters politics after her brothers are murdered. Monish her secret lover is a scion of a Delhi business dynasty who is trapped in his bullying fathers empire. Their affair is set against the backdrop of a tumultuous time in politics--tumbling governments and three national elections taking place over three years. Their personal and public lives clash as they struggle to achieve their goals: power for her; fortune for him; unaware of the dangers that swirl around them. Everything is interconnected not just wealth and politics even if the characters are not fully cognisant of this.