Romance in San Francisco

Gouri Dange’s ‘The Counsel of Strangers’ maps the lives of six people who meet at a wedding. One of them finds love at 73

The Counsel of Strangers
Gouri Dange
OMO Books, Rs 250, Pp 172

I found myself lying, yes bare-faced lying, to my own daughter so smoothly the next morning.

“Dad it’s Saturday morning, where are you off to?” she asked. “Those Brahmakumari people visit the old on the third Saturday; they’re coming to see you.”

I first spoke the truth, and then told the lie.

“Please, beta, it’s very late for me to be saved by any Brahmos.” I stopped myself in time from calling them ‘Brahmos Missiles’ (that’s India’s supersonic cruise missile; we made it with the Russians). My daughter had once rapped me on the knuckles for that joke.

Now I could hear the edge in her voice: “This is not the Christian church—they’re not ‘saving’ anyone, Dad. I wish you would listen. It’s just part of their outreach to the Hindu community here, dad.”

“Well then I want to stay out of their reach,” I said, still trying to laugh my way out of this.

Full review here Mint