Karai  (Tamil, Paperback, Gautam Narayanan)

White souls walk the paths of this world, their spirit and color unknown to the eye. Souls you might cross in a semblance of peace yet a stain permeates these white souls, the stain of trauma, the stain of rage, pain and desire. The stain rots every white soul wandering with the baggage of life, with the baggage of mankind. Every stain that spreads deep also burns with the frightening desire to be both tamed and unleashed in the dismaying irony of man. Perhaps, it is the stain of mankind’s depravity, also its search for a fleeting moment of redemption and release. There are no souls ever left untainted, this is one such story reeling with tainted souls. An old shopkeeper, Neelakanda Pillai, hailing from a family of legacy in a small town confronts his own demons when he encounters a bewitching young girl. Overwhelmed with wretched desire, the manifestations of his soul grow more tainted, washing over innocence that is both enticing and menacing. Everything comes undone and a chaos erupts within and out as the stain pervades further and pushes him to the brink.