Antara

Antara is the first person narrator and protagonist of the novel. When Antara is just a baby, her mother, Tara, begins obsessively wandering from home, leaving Antara unattended. Tired of Tara's irresponsibility, her mother-in-law demands she care for her infant daughter. Tara then flees her home and marriage, and moves her Antara to a nearby ashram, where they live for four years. However, Antara's time in the ashram is defined by loneliness and confusion. Because her mother is distracted by her new relationship with the ashram leader, Antara clings to another woman in the ashram, Kali Mata. When Tara's relationship ends, she yanks Antara away from the ashram and into a wayward life on the streets. When Antara's father learns of their conditions, he collects them, leaving them in the care of Antara's grandparents.

Not long after her parents' divorce, Antara's family sends her to boarding school. While...