Dawn

Set in the heady years before independence, this is the story of young Binapani growing up in a small Assamese town. Headstrong and stubborn, Binapani is confronted with a host of questions as she attempts to come to terms with the changing reality around her: why are girls not allowed to study? Why do some families have to live in poverty while others are feted and fawned upon by the townspeople? Why does a nationalist hero have to be hidden away, a Christian boy termed an outcaste? Before she can even begin to find answers to any of these questions – in which her only support is her aging grandmother, Jashodha – Binapani is married off to a much older man whom she has always disliked. A lifetime of drudgery, relieved by the birth of her children, her occasional visits to her grandmother, follows and then, just as life threatens to become empty of joy, a chance encounter with an old friend brings change. Binapani realizes that the world is still a beautiful place and life can still have meaning. This beautifully crafted tale describes a moment of profound historical change, against which it weaves a fine web of changing relationships, of people’s joys and sorrows, as seen through the eyes of a young girl and her painful journey to adulthood.