‘A tale finely told, where writing and music form body and soul. With a rare combination of poetic imagination, sociological insight and historical understanding, Sahela Re is a nostalgic but unsentimental evocation of the vanished golden age of Hindustani music and a lament for its present predicament. With truly creative unconcern for political correctness, it shows that, ironically, the golden age was in a colonized feudal society and its withering has come about in democratic India. It brings to life women artistes who pursued their beloved art uncompromisingly, following their emotions and dreams at a heavy personal cost. A tale that will haunt you long after you’ve read it.’

– Geetanjali Shree, winner of the Booker Prize

‘Mrinal Pande, well-regarded Hindi writer and mediaperson, is also a trained Hindustani classical singer. Drawing from her knowledge of the art form and its history, she explores the world of Hindustani music with deep understanding and empathy. Her narrative mixes the tragic and the comic, and reveals the grace and grandeur, the sufferings and ironies, the darings and failures of lives involved in music. Sahela Re is a human document. A rare fictional account of a lesser-known ethos, the novel is a triumph of creative imagination.’

– Ashok Vajpeyi

‘Like a lyrical detective, the writer takes us on a journey into a forgotten and forsaken world of music. As the book unspools, the hidden notes turn out to be as beautiful as the ones heard.’

– Namita Devidayal