More such flashes of independence —before they toe the traditional line— are characteristic of women in Suri's The Age of Shiva—Roopa, Meera and Sandhya. Yet, the 57-year-old writer clarifies, “The stories and personal histories in this novel are entirely fictional.” Roopa dares to romance Dev at bustling Chandni Chowk (where Suri's grandmom lived), but marries a navy officer of her father’s choice. Meera, who weds her sister’s former beau against her family’s wishes, has to tolerate her husband’s drunken night-time fumbling.

Suri, however, admits, “I wouldn’t have been able to bring them to life without the crucial firsthand knowledge of India before, during and since Partition shared with me by members of my family.” According to him, a real-life tale can be the starting point of a story, but he changes the situation, letting the imagination do the trick.

Through this, the author traces the fortunes of one family in the post-Independence era, touching upon the Indo-Pak war and Emergency, portraying a society in transition and an extraordinary portrait of maternal love. In fact, from the opening page of the novel itself the overwhelming love of Meera—whose marriage with Dev has gone kaput—for son Ashvin becomes clear. Suri carries it forward with a vivid, lucid narrative.

The task of recreating the ’50s was seemingly easy for this former Napean Sea Road resident—since part of the action takes place in Mumbai, where he grew up during that time. But as he gave shape to the second book of his trilogy— after The Death of Vishnu—it became clear when “history becomes a character”, it entails in-depth research. That’s one of the reasons why the professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, took seven years to complete his second novel, which published by Penguin India, was released at Crossword on Monday.

Suri’s trilogy follows a zigzag chronology. While The Death of Vishnu was set in the Mumbai of the ’80s and the ’90s, he goes back to the ’50s in his latest. The last of the series, on which he has started working, looks at India in the future. Suri sounds relieved when he says, “I don’t have to research.” He is toying with the title of The Birth of Brahma as India continues to be the common link. Despite the growing interest in books on the sub-continent, this Indian expatriate vehemently refuses targeting a western audience.