DIFFICULT DAUGHTERS

Set around the time of Partition and written with absorbing intelligenceand sympathy, Difficult Daughters is the story of a woman torn betweenfamily duty, the desire for education, and illicit love. Virmati, a youngwoman born in Amritsar into an austere and high-minded household, falls inlove with a neighbour, the Professor--a man who is already married. Thatthe Professor eventually marries Virmati, installs her in his home(alongside his furious first wife) and helps her towards further studiesin Lahore, is small consolation to her scandalised family. Or even toVirmati, who finds that the battle for her own independence has createdirrevocable lines of partition and pain around her. Difficult Daughterswas short-listed for the Crossword Book Award in India.