{"product_id":"memory-of-light-9780670093519","title":"Memory of Light","description":"\u003cp\u003ePreparations for King George the Third's fiftieth birthday gala are in full swing in Lucknow. As poets and performers vie to be part of the show, Chapla Bai, a dazzling courtesan from Kashi, briefly enters this competitive world, and sweeps the poet Nafis Bai off her feet. An irresistible passion takes root, expanding and contracting like a wave of light. Over two summers, aided by Nafis's friends, the poets Insha and Rangin, and Sharad, himself in love with a man, they exchange letters and verses, feeding each other the heady fruit of desire. When Chapla leaves for home, they part with the dream of building a life together. Can their relationship survive the distances?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNarrated in the voice of Nafis, \u003ci\u003eMemory of Light\u003c\/i\u003e weaves an exquisite web of conversations, songs, reminiscences around a life-changing love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRuth Vanita\u003c\/b\u003e taught at Delhi University for 20 years and is now professor at the University of Montana. She was founding co-editor of \u003ci\u003eManushi\u003c\/i\u003e, 1978-90. She is the author of several books, including \u003ci\u003eLove's Rite: Same-Sex Marriages in Modern India \u003c\/i\u003e(2005); \u003ci\u003eGender, Sex and the City: Urdu Rekhti Poetry in India 1780-1870 \u003c\/i\u003e(2012); and \u003ci\u003eDancing with the Nation: Courtesans in Bombay Cinema \u003c\/i\u003e(2017). She is the co-editor of \u003ci\u003eSame-Sex Love in India: A Literary History\u003c\/i\u003e, and has translated many works of fiction and poetry from Hindi and Urdu to English, most notably \u003ci\u003eChocolate: Stories on Male-Male Desire \u003c\/i\u003eby Pandey Bechan Sharma 'Ugra' (2008). This is her first work of fiction. She divides her time between Missoula and Gurgaon.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"India Viking","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50443807228178,"sku":"9780670093519","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_bc0f04c3-db2f-4826-818a-c749b0b11df6.jpg?v=1729675782","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/memory-of-light-9780670093519","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}