At the dawn of independence in India, in a small

Katha proudly presents Indira Goswami's hugely successful novel, The Man from Chinnamasta. Set in the times of unrest and turmoil at the turn of the twentieth century, the novel paints the hoary history of Assam's most famous temple of the Sakta cult, Kamakhya.The story flows as swiftly as the Brahmaputra; it holds the reader's attention as seductively. And as the narrative moves inexorably towards its end, we see the power of the storyteller in Indira Goswami. This evocative translation by Prashant Goswami makes the novel a must read for all lovers of good fiction.

‘She had given her husband four children, had bared her body and soul to him... why did he want to remarry? Today, what made him dress in a new silk kurta, become a bridegroom once again, and leave on elephant-back to take another woman as his wife?’ When Menoka’s dissolute husband Mohikanto takes a second wife she is devastated by the heedless manner in which he squanders her unquestioning loyalty. But after the initial anguish she finds new strength – in her womanhood when she embraces a tender but illicit relationship with a village outcast; in her role as a fiercely protective mother, and, eventually, in a compassionate humanity towards her frail and battered co-wife and needy stepchildren. The story also poignantly explores Menoka’s troubled but ultimately redemptive relationship with Indro, her firstborn son, who is unwittingly exposed to a bewildering world of adult complexities and feels compelled to leave the village.

Autobiography of a woman Assamese author.

Pages Stained with Blood is a thought-provoking and candid history of the 1984 riots. Indira Goswami reacts to the bloodshed and the savagery that followed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi s assassination and weaves a powerful tale of human frailties and mindless violence.

The Book Written In English Is A Novel Set In The Mid-18Th Century. The Story Is Based On A Historical Figure, A Real Clarinda, The Widow Of A Maratha Brahmin, Who Had Been One Of The KingýS Servants In Tanjore, And After Her HusbandýS Death Became The Concubine Of An English Officer Of The Name Of Lyttleton. The Imagined Story Of This Unusual Woman, Who Gradually Takes Control Of Her Life, Gives Madhaviah The Opportunity To Work Out Some Of His Favourite Themes: WomenýS Education, The Questions Of Sati And Widow Remarriage, And The Encounter Between Hinduism And Christianity. The Cross-Cultural, Inter-Religious Relationship Which Is At The Heart Of The Novel Is Unusual And Profoundly Interesting.

The shadow of Kamakhya is a collection of stories set in Assam. Handpicked by the author, the stories are invested with a wealth of detail which evoke a feel of the region. The themes explored, however, are wide-ranging--the pain of thwarted passion, blighted hopes, the struggle for exsistence--and they transcend the ambience with ease.