book

Wings in the Void gives the reader a peep into the Delhi of the1960s, a city suffering the bitter after-taste of the sweet victory of Independence. The Mahatma's ideals have been finally buried; corruption, venality and platitudes rule, not only the capital's corridors of power, but also the lives of the individuals who live in it.

Among the most significant of Indira Parthasarathy's novels, Wings in the Void explores the wheeling and dealing, ambition and greed that rule the lives of countless upwardly mobile Indians caught up in the intrigues of the political and diplomatic circles of Delhi. Into this complex world arrives Kasturi, a young intellectual in the making from a small town in Tamil Nadu, in search of wealth, success and personal freedom. The novel is an account of his mental and emotional evolution. What Kasturi achieves - and loses in the process - mirrors the experiences of many young modern urban Indians in their struggle for a better life.