A new book based in Mumbai explores the often-tangled web of human relationships and is a deviation from several recent works related to the maximum city which mainly deal with terror, crime and the underworld.
Tied In Knots is entrepreneur Tehzeeb Doctor’s debut book, published by Palimpsest. It is about Shaista, a wedding planner in upmarket Mumbai who one day discovers that tying knots is neither the beginning nor the culmination of a relationship.
Human relationships often challenge or break free from conventions and social institutions. Krish, a young gay man moving into an apartment with his partner Kabir, and Mrs Banerjee announcing a new man in her life soon after her daughter’s wedding, only extend the boundary of the bold new world.
The book chronicles urban life is many shades and nuances, pared off by Shaista’s keen eyes. It also looks into how the LGBT community finds it difficult to integrate into the mainstream.
Weddings are a tricky affair and mean handling a forest of nerves but five years in the business had taught Shaista two things to be always prepared for surprises from every corner and that tame, tentative beginners could often turn into nerve-racking bridezillas.
According to Palimpsest CEO Bhaskar Roy, Tied In Knots tries to bring back Mumbai on the literary map.
He also describes it as the “finest book” on the metropolis since Vikram Chandra’s Love and Longing in Bombay.
