Author Description

An emotional back road journey through India's soil and souls! She is honest and indomitable; He is corrupt and intimidating. Everyone is scared to raise voice against him--all but her. Interlaced with realistic characters and emotions, A Callous Soul, the first book of the Nambardaar series, is a socio-political thriller based on the backdrop of a crucial and poignant issue in India's government schools--midday meal. Nambardaar uses his power and money to control everything around him--his village, his land, his people, government departments, and whatever else comes his way. He owns thousands of acres of land and a conglomerate of businesses, and wants more. In a strategic move, he chooses his dalit servant Gangu to be the pradhan (chief) of his village Setpur. Things move exactly the way he had planned. He not only wins the hearts of the people belonging to Gangu's caste but also gets support from other backward communities, both crucial to making a successful career in politics. Completely unaware of Nambardaar's motives, Gangu vows to bring changes in the lives of the people of Setpur, and the first change he makes is to bring twenty-one-year-old Muskan as Shikshamitra (Asst. teacher) at Setpur School. Muskan, a smart girl aspiring to join Indian Administrative Services, raises her voice about the issues at the school. Just a glance at Nambardaar's past track record is enough to intimidate anyone, but Muskan is undeterred and determined to resolve the problems. Things move dramatically and entirely in the opposite direction of the itinerary Nambardaar had planned. His ego is wounded--something that hadn't happened in decades--and therefore he retaliates, in a heinous way. The Nambardaar series is an extended English version of highly acclaimed Hindi novel Rampur Ka Pradhan, which received rave reviews from leading Hindi national newspapers of India. It takes the readers on a back road journey through the soils and soul