The Songs of Meera (Paperback)

Manjul Bajaj is a novelist, short fiction writer, poet and translator. She lives in Goa. She graduated in Economics from Delhi University and then did a Masters in Rural Management and another in Environmental Science. For much of her adult life she has worked in the field of rural development. India's seemingly sleepy villages, its seething beneath the surface small towns, the wisdom and courage of ordinary people living unimaginably difficult lives, the diversity, the complexity, the sheer depth of the Indian subcontinent's many traditions, rituals, philosophies and ways of life, its music, literature, crafts and performing arts, its varied languages - all of these fascinate her, as do the many conflicts and contradictions that arise as the country grows and modernizes. Through her fiction she attempts to explore and understand the beauty and confusion of India, and what being a modern person belonging to this very ancient civilization and culture entails. Her debut novel Come, Before Evening Falls was shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize 2010 and her collection of short stories Another Man's Wife was shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize 2013 Her 2019 novel In Search of Heer, a modern retelling of the Heer Ranjha epic, was listed for the JCB Prize 2020, the Mathrubhumi Literature Prize 2020, the Times of India AutHer Award 2020 and the Atta Galatta Prize 2020. She is also the author of Elbie's Quest and Nargisa's Adventures, for children. The Book of Bullah, a selection of the Punjabi mystic poet Bulleh Shah's verses translated by her into English, is her latest offering to readers.