Chander Gaye Chand by Tilottama Majumdar [Hardcover]

Self-definition, or the quest for identity, is the greatest affliction of modern-day individuals. This very affliction is what has relentlessly pushed Shruti Basu towards a sense of incompleteness. Shruti, a good student from a small-town school, became lost in this sense of vulnerability after coming to Kolkata to pursue college. Her two roommates, Shreyasi and Debrupa, created moments of uncontrolled attraction toward each other, and it was within this whirlpool of emotions that Shruti, like a boat ravaged by a flood, was breaking apart piece by piece. Yet, this breaking was not fatal.

In the midst of her fragmentation, Shruti ultimately found her self-definition. Her intense and unbreachable love for her brother, the cruel inevitability of her own existence, and the hopeless surrender of her father, Lakshmipishi (Aunt Laxmi), and other relatives—along with her work life in the H.O.P.E-CCI organization—taught her about the multifaceted nature of human life. After many moments of destruction and realization, Shruti came to understand the lunar essence of her inner being.

In the search for truth, in understanding human nature, and by reflecting within herself, Shruti arrived at her irrevocable self-definition.