26, Kamala Nehru Ridge, Civil Lines, Delhi: For Zara Mallik, lost to land.

26, Kamala Nehru Ridge, Civil Lines, Delhi is my first verse novel. It is set in pre-independence India, beginning in 1937, from a time before partition was officially announced to 1947, to a time when the face of Delhi had drastically changed its demography and lines of divide. Each verse is written for Zara, a young Muslim girl, born in a small affluent muslim Mallik family, her dreams, her devotion, her hopes, her marriage to a Hindu man, her journey to keep her family where they belong, Civil Lines, Delhi, India. Despite its crumble and fall. Over the 40 verses of this book, I’ve tried to use the grace of poetry, verse and dance to transport you through politically, culturally and economically changing tides and times in India and beyond.