Sari Shop  (English, Paperback, Bajwa Rupa)

The Sari Shop is a darkly funny, honest and yet a profoundly poignant debut novel written by Rupa Bajwa. The book was longlisted for the Orange Prize and shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize. It is the winner of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the Grinzane Cavour Prize, and the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award.

Summary of the Book

Meet Ramchand, he works at the Sevak Sari House in Amritsar. It is yet another working day and he is late yet again. He hurries through the tapered streets to the sari house, a shop which is pretty much buried in the heart of one of the main bazaars in the town. Ramchand and his colleagues are used to rolling and unrolling yards of Bangladesh cottons and Banaras silks all day long. One afternoon, Ramchand is asked to carry the carefully selected trousseau to a new part of the city. This short trip to the Kapoor house pushes him out of the routine rhythm of his life. He is suddenly faced with all the wonderful possibilities of life. Ramchand thus sets out to realize his childhood dream, with a fresh pair of socks, a bar of Lifebuoy soap, a second-hand English grammar book and an old, battered Oxford Dictionary. But Ramchand soon realizes it wasn’t a dream that was meant for him to realize. His plans are turned upside down and he comes face to face with the harsh reality of life. Find out what happens to this boy with big dreams in this remarkably honest story.

About Rupa Bajwa

Rupa Bajwa is an Indian writer. She was born in Amritsar in 1976. Her debut novel The Sari Shop was published in the year 2004, which won her several prestigious awards. The book has been translated into many other Indian and foreign languages, including French, Dutch and Siberian. Her controversial literary piece Dark Things Do Happen in Gurdwaras Sometimes in The Telegraph invited severe criticisms from the Sikh clergy. Rupa also pens reviews and other articles in The telegraph, India Today and The Tribune. She has also authored the book Tell Me a Story.