THE TEMPLE GOERS BY AATISH TASEER [HARDCOVER]

It is spring in Delhi when the narrator arrives. There are bright buses on new roads and metro construction is on in full swing. New townships called Sectorpur and Phasenagar have joined the metropolis’ sprawl. Back after several years abroad, the narrator is intrigued by the transformations he sees. Amid this bustle, he wants to settle down to revise a novel, learn Urdu and join a gym. He meets Zafar Moradabadi, an old city poet, and Aakash Sharma. A beautiful friendship blooms with Zafar; but with the ambitious, irresistible gym trainer Aakash, something more sinister takes shape. Spring turns to summer – a summer abroad – and summer to winter; his relationship with his lovely girlfriend Sanyogita starts to falter, his book suffers. He becomes entwined in Aakash’s secret affair with a robust heiress. In growing to understand the ambitions and desires of those around him – Zafar saab, Aakash, the ‘healthy’ Megha, Sanyogita, and her sexy aunt, the maharani-chief minister Chamunda – in seeking out the experiences of this New Delhi of relaxed boundaries, he becomes aware of the million smouldering fights and affections that light up the city’s life.