Nanda Kaul

Nanda Kaul is the grand matriarch of a fallen and scattered family. In the narrative present, she is at the end of her life and wants nothing more than to be left alone in her remote house, Carignano, where she sought to hide from her past and find inner peace through isolation and detachment from human relations. Nanda Kaul once led an extravagant life, she was raised in a high caste and was educated by English governesses and played badminton on huge estates with her childhood best friend Ila Das. As an adult, she was married to the Vice-Chancellor of a university in Punjab, and they lived in a big house that was always busy with guests and children. During this period Nanda Kaul managed everything and all of her time was devoted to running the house, which she felt was a huge burden.

After the Vice-Chancellor...