We’re delighted to welcome you to the launch of Real Life, the much-anticipated new novel by Amrita Mahale. Set in the mysterious Mahamaya Valley in the Himalayas, Real Life begins with the disappearance of wildlife biologist Tara and unfolds into a layered story of friendship, obsession, and truth-seeking. Amrita Mahale will be in conversation with author Dharini Bhaskar, as they discuss the novel, its themes, and the stories that shape their writing.
Here are the event details:
Date: 20th September, Saturday
Time: 6:00 pm
Venue: Champaca Bookstore, Vasanth Nagar
Since the seating is limited, we recommend you to sign up here!
About the Book:
In the remote Mahamaya Valley in the Himalayas, wildlife biologist Tara has vanished. Hunting for answers, Tara’s best friend Mansi sets out to retrace her whereabouts in the days before her disappearance. The prime suspect Bhaskar sits in police custody, his obsession with Tara laid bare, his testimony a labyrinth of contradictions and half-truths. As the investigation deepens, the valley reveals its own mysteries―a backpacker paradise where the timeless and the ephemeral collide, where technology and nature clash, and where a woman's voice can be silenced in countless ways.
Rendered in exquisite prose, Real Life is a gripping mystery that transforms into a masterful exploration of love and loss, visibility and erasure, AI and surveillance and the never-ending tussle between individual desires and societal demands.
In an age of surveillance and enforced conformity, what does it mean for a woman to seek a more authentic, real existence?
About the Speakers:
Amrita Mahale: Born in Mumbai, Dharini grew up in five cities across India. Milk Teeth, her first novel, was published to widespread acclaim in 2018 and was longlisted for the JCB Prize for Literature and shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award for Fiction. She was trained as an aerospace engineer at IIT Bombay and Stanford University.
Dharini Bhaskar: Born in Bombay, Dharini has at various points also called the UK, Greece, Delhi and Bangalore home.Her debut novel These, Our Bodies Possessed by Light (Hachette India) was shortlisted for the 2020 JCB Prize for Literature, Tata Literature Live! (First Book: Fiction), and the Valley of Words book awards.