Duty and Desire opens up a world of desi grandeur, deceit and lies

by Priya Mulji

THE debut novel of author Anju Gattani took her 19 years to complete and tells the story Sheetal Prasad who is forced to marry millionaire playboy Rakesh Dhanraj, instead of Arvind, the man she loves.

Her family does not approve of Arvind due to his social status and would prefer their daughter to marry Rakesh, who is also marrying for the sake of his family’s status.

Sheetal reluctantly marries Rakesh, but isn’t happy, neither is she treated well. After the death of his father, Rakesh is the head of the family business, which has flourished since he took over. Sheetal hardly gets to spend time with her new husband because of the amount of time that he spends working.

She is forced into a predicament, should she stay and honour her family and son, or follow her love? Should she put up with the way she is badly treated by her husband and her in-laws or be disowned by her family and society forever? The Dhanrajs are extremely wealthy and will do anything to hide the secrets that have been clouding the family for years. Sheetal slowly discovers the Dhanrajs are not what they appear to be from the outside.

The enjoyable and free-flowing book was extremely easy to read. With vivid attention to detail, the atmospheric story almost has a Bollywood vibe to it and gives an interesting insight into how the insanely wealthy live in rural Raigun, India. This is a book for desi ladies looking for real escapism, an easy read and something similar to Fifty Shades of Grey.

If you are looking for a book to break away from the pandemic and crawl into a world of desi grandeur, deceit and lies; this is a good fit. The book is available on Amazon and is part of the Winds of Fire book series, which has got off to a strong start.