Portraits From Ayodhya: Living India's Contradictions

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A bird's-eye view of life after Babri Masjid in the town that bore witness to an event whose after-effects are still felt throughout the country. Unflinchingly honest and sincere, this is a book that presents an Ayodhya never seen before Almost two decades after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Scharada Dubey, an Ayodhya resident, studies the barricaded Ram Janmabhoomi site, travels through temple alleyways, visits the residents, ordinary and prominent, of a town that has known no peace. What follows is Portraits of Ayodhya – a star- tling compilation of oral history. In this book of narrative non-fiction, we meet Ayodhya denizens from all walks of life – from the almost omnip- otent Mahant Gyandas (head of the Hanuman Garhi temple), to the unassuming Ram Sharan Das, whose occupation is cleaning gutters. Even as we witness two sides to every story, we spot a thread binding all the major figures: a love for Ayodhya, a longing for quiet. If places are defined by people, Portraits of Ayodhya is testament to this belief. Unflinchingly honest and sincere, this is a book that presents an Ayodhya never seen before.

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Scharada Dubey is a writer. She has been a college lecturer, a radio announcer, a producer of video features for television, and a tarot practitioner with a column in four editions of the Times of India. As Scharada Bail, she has penned several children’s books, including travelogues such asFootloose on the West Coast and Malwa on My Mind, and biographical volumes like Icons of Social Change and Growing Up. Scharada set up the Sahriday Samiti in Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, to work for the resolution of man-animal conflicts, which led to the title, Monkeys in My Backyard. Scharada now lives and works in Lucknow.