The Memoirs of Valmiki Rao

PRAISE FOR GODS AND ENDS:. 'An intriguing debut with a biting sense of humour and quirky voice.' Jury JCB Prize for Literature 2021. 'An absorbing and unforgettable novel.' Jury Tata Literature Live! 2021. 'A fulfilling disturbing read.' The Hindu. 'My story may end with sadness but I want you to remember that it started with love. Mumbai has moved on now. It doesn't think about 1992 or 1993 because it doesn't want to. People in big cities like to think that the past is not as important as the future. But the past doesn't just disappear.'Mumbai in the early 90s. The Ram Janmabhoomi movement is at its peak and the Babri Masjid has just fallen. Decades later in a corner of the metropolis a retired postman living alone in a dilapidated room tries to recall those months of madness and how they changed everyone he knew.This is the story of Rameshwar Shinde and Ravinarayan Kumar a young woman called Janaki and the neighbours they live with in the shadows of towers. It is a story of families torn apart by bigotry an unmissable retelling of the epic Ramayana set at a time when blood mixed with the grime of Mumbai's streets. A tale more pertinent than ever in a country once again teetering on the edge.