The Song of Kahunsha
by Anosh Irani
It is 1993 and Bombay is threatened by terrorism and sectarian
strife. Ten-year-old Chamdi has rarely ventured outside his orphanage,
and entertains an idyllic fantasy of what the city is like beyond its
garden walls—a paradise he calls Kahunsha, “the city of no sadness.”
But when he runs away to search for his long-lost father, he finds
himself thrust into the chaos of the streets, alone, possessing only
the cloth he was left in as a baby. There Chamdi meets Sumdi and Guddi,
brother and sister who beg in order to provide for their sick mother,
and the three become fast friends.
Fueled by desire to find his father and the dream of his Kahunsha,
Chamdi struggles for survival on Bombay’s brutal streets. But when he
is caught up in the beginnings of the savage violence that will soon
engulf the city, his dreams confront reality.
Wonderfully rich in the sights and sounds of Bombay, The Song of Kahunsha is a poignant story of hopes and dreams, and of the fragility of childhood innocence.
Anosh Irani
Author's Bio:Anosh Irani was born and brought up in Bombay, India, and moved to
Vancouver, Canada in 1998. He is also the author of the acclaimed novel
The Cripple and His Talismans. His first play, The Matka King, premiered at the Arts Club Theatre Company, Vancouver, in 2003. His most recent play, Bombay Black,
commissioned and developed by Nightswimming, was produced by Cahoots
Theatre Projects, Toronto, in 2006, and won four Dora Awards, including
for Outstanding New Play. He divides his time between Bombay and
Vancouver.
Awards:One of five finalists for CBC's Canada Reads
Quotes:"With understated skill, Anosh Irani tells such a darkly enchanting
story of the abandoned children of Bombay that I felt swept away by
their fate and entangled in the world's too believable cruelty toward
the innocent. Irani's shocking tale unfolds with a macabre and
terrifying beauty that is both heartbreaking and compelling." —Wayson
Choy, author of All That Matters
Praise from Canada
"A gripping and compassionate novel. . . . [It] calls to mind Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance." —Winnipeg Free Press
"Beautiful. . . . [It] vindicates the fragile but triumphant scope of childhood imagination with touching grace." —The Globe and Mail
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Price:
$ 22.00
Binding: Hardcover
Availability In Stock: 195
Immediately
Publisher: Milkweed Editions
Published: 2007
Size: 5.5 x 8.5
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781571310621
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