Amrita

About this book

I recently wrote a short story for Vogue India's sixth anniversary issue, and I thought you guys might like to see it while you wait for the sequel to The Bone Season. The issue is centred around the colour black, and I was asked to write a story set in India with the theme "dark" or "black". In the style of The Bone Season, I came up with a dystopian fantasy, this time set in Jaipur-2, a fictional version of the Indian city of Jaipur. The story is called Amrita, from a Sanskrit word (अमृत) referring to a drink (or "nectar") that grants immortality, and is based on Hindu mythology. It isn't related at all to the universe of The Bone Season, but I hope it will appeal to readers who enjoyed the novel's mix of genres. Unfortunately the story isn't available online, unless you have a subscription to the magazine's digital edition, but Bloomsbury India have been kind enough to scan the pages for me. You can click the images to enlarge them or save them to your computer and zoom. Amrita is my first published short story and my first attempt at writing in present tense and third person simultaneously. I hope you enjoy it.