An arranged marriage falls tragically short of expectations. In a beauty parlor, friendly gossip unearths uncomfortable truths. In pre-independent India, a young widow fights to succeed in a profession that is an exclusive male preserve. And an ageing music teacher refuses to let poverty snuff out her dreams. Underlying Nandita C. Puri’s tongue-in-cheek humor and buoyant tone, is a rare perception of human nature. Her protagonists are women with minds of their own, driven by motives that are at times comprehensible, and at others, baffling – as full of surprises as life itself.