Brinda Charry is the real thing, a master at the top of her game. Her work engages the human condition and the personal with an intensity and authority that can only be explained by literary grace. Arthur R. Flowers When a new family moves in next door, a young girl finds herself falling in love for the first time ever. As she jealously attempts to keep the object of her love to herself, she moves deeper into a web of imagination and deceit, and further away from the innocence of childhood.The warmth and intimacy of this moving tale also enriches Mallika, the story of a little boy and girl who are fascinated with their neighbour, a eunuch; The Secret, the escapades of a middle-aged bachelor who yearns for some excitement in his life and finds it in marriage; The Pied Piper of Hamelin, an unusual take on the popular folktale, and the other stories in this unforgettable collection from southern India.