Maruswarga by Abul Bashar [Hardcover]

This story is set in an ancient land more than a thousand years before the birth of Christ. Shaped like a crescent moon, this region is bordered by the Black Sea to the north, the Arabian Desert to the south, Persia to the east, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. In this novel by Abul Bashar, one side reveals the harsh desert while the other unveils fertile green plains. Nomadic people journey from the desert to the land, only to be displaced repeatedly.
The people who roamed the desert imagined paradise, and to bring this imagination to life, women played a central role. One such woman is Ribika, the heroine of this novel, surrounded by three men. Ribika loved one of them. Another sought solace in her body. Yet, the third man became the most significant support in her life. How this happened forms the crux of this laborious and intensely intriguing epic.
The story's setting is as unique as its construction, combining mythology, folklore, legends, and elements of collective imagination. At the same time, within its layers, the burning issues of contemporary India subtly resonate.