It's the mid-to-late 1800s and the British have banished Wajid Ali Shah—the
nawab of Awadh in Lucknow—to Calcutta. To the sound of the soulful melody of the
sarangi, the mercurial courtesan Laayl-e Aasman is playing a dangerous game of
love, loyalty, deception, and betrayal. Bajrangi and Kundan, bound by their love
for each other and for Laayl-e, struggle to keep their balance. Ranging across
generations and geography, the scale of Laayl-e's story sweeps the devil, a
crime lord, and many other remarkable characters into a heady mix.
Mirror of the Darkest Night is almost an aberration in Mahasweta Devi's oeuvre.
Known for her activism and hard-hitting