The year is 2032. China declares war on India. Pillage and plunder ensues. The war comes to an abrupt halt when a supernatural event saves the obscure town of Lalbag from annihilation. Even as China renews its efforts to invade Lalbag, a greater calamity awaits this sleepy town. A Chinese cop stumbles upon a dangerous secret that threatens to end the town’s immunity. A fierce and forbidden love between a servant and his mistress destroys two families. Meanwhile, the town’s richest man becomes afflicted with a terrible disease, the town beauty goes mad when her love betrays, and a psychic turns water into blood, sending the town and its people deeper into tragedy.
A dystopian never-been-done-before tale set in – and between – China and India, The Man Who Lost India is a powerful portrayal of love, strife and family in the wake of 21st century’s biggest war. Incantatory and atmospheric, this is Meghna Pant’s most ambitious novel yet, full of beauty, bloodshed and undeniable feminist power.
