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The City of Devi

Manil Suri

The City of Devi

14 January 2013

In the desolate streets of Mumbai, empty after threats of nuclear annihilation, Sarita can only think of one thing. She must buy the last pomegranate that remains in perhaps the entire city for her physicist husband Karun, who has been mysteriously missing for over a fortnight. Jaz – young, cocky and handsome – is also looking for his own lover. Traversing the surreal landscape, always under the pervasive influence of the Bollywood cinema megahit Superdevi that some blame for sparking religious fanaticism, both Sarita and Jaz find themselves drawn to the patron goddess Devi ma, supposed saviour of the city.

A wickedly satirical and fiercely provocative tale of individuals balancing on the sharp edge of fate, The City of Devi upsets assumptions of politics, religion and sex in the present day’s rising global superpower and demonstrates that, in the fallout of our mass media world, we are left seeking those we love most.

This event was a very special chance to get up close and personal with the famous mathematician-author that Amy Tan has described as a “major storyteller of heart and intelligence”. At the reading, held in association with Bloomsbury India, Manil Suri was in conversation with Parmesh Shahani, the head of the Godrej India Culture Lab. Manil thrilled the audience by screening a clip of his famous Helen dance number...icing on the cake!

About the Author

Author Manil Suri was born in Mumbai in 1959 and is a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He has written two novels, The Death of Vishnu and The Age of Shiva. His