Mumbai Matinee by Ajay Kaul
Award Finalist: 2018 Best Book Awards
Fiction: Anthologies
Mumbai Matinee depicts the life and culture around the city of Mumbai through 8 interconnected stories. Key scene sketches accompany the narrative to spark the reader's imagination.
Ajay doesn't know what to expect when he moves to the bustling city of Mumbai. He himself hails from North India, and the culture shock of the dynamic city takes a bit of getting used to. He's captivated, though, and Ajay falls in love with the colorful metropolis and its many inhabitants. In the city, he will find love, friendship, and community--but also danger and the threat of disaster.
It all begins in 1993, when Ajay comes to Mumbai on a short internship assignment. He is caught in the shock wave of the 1993 serial bombings. Despite this brush with death, Ajay is determined to learn the secrets of the city.
After graduation, he comes back and finds new stories in the city's streets. Ajay meets an interfaith couple who teach him about the power of love, a local labor leader who is more than he seems, and a dynamic acting teacher who could become something more. He also suffers another close call more than a decade after the bombings. Still, for every troubling experience, there's one that pushes Ajay beyond his comfort zone and spurs him to embrace all his adopted city has to offer.
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