Stories Behind the Story
Everyone knows that khadi is our freedom fabric. Gandhiji’s charkha woven, homespun, knobby fabric was a symbol of India and is now a fashionable summer staple for luxury brands like Good Earth.
Khadi is almost a character in Ladies’ Tailor. It is the base upon which Gurdev and his friends build their clothing business. But as a Facebook post by Good Earth announced, ‘Khadi is not just clothing, it is a transmission of artisans’ feelings.’ So is the case in this story.
There are two types of people in the world when it comes to homes. Those who will fashion a nest no matter how small, no matter how basic wherever they are and those who don’t particularly care.
In my novel, Ladies’ Tailor, I write about no fewer than one dozen homes, with descriptions and emotions that range from the poignancy of losing one’s home to a raging fire to the matter of factness of a family home in Jangpura that is just there.
For me, home is a special place, physical and spiritual. It is a place to rest, to revive the body and soul and to sink into peace and quiet.
Read Ladies’ Tailor to engage with a concept of home that changes as its characters transform their lives.