Hirakud Days

Hirakud Days is a tender, closely observed memoir of growing up in the Indal township beside the great Hirakud Dam in the 1960s and early 80s. Written from the perspective of a child, it recreates a self-contained world of colony lanes, festivals, friendships and quiet routines that has largely disappeared.

Through episodes of Holi and Diwali, the excitement of Ratha Yatra, the first rains after a long summer, blackout drills during the 1971 war, and the everyday pleasures of the swimming po...