The Missing Queen

It has been ten years since Ram’s return from fallen Lanka. Ayodhya is shining. Ayodhya is prosperous. But darkness lurks at the heart of the victrorious regime. A pointed question piques a young journalist’s curiousity: What happened to Sita? Where is Ram’s absent wife whose abduction triggered the war with Lanka?

And so begins the journalist’s search for the missing queen. Soon her investigation attracts the notice of Ayodhya’s all-powerful secret police and its mysterious head, the Washerman. Forced to flee Ayodhya, the journalist makes her way through a war-devastated Lanka in search of answers.

In this stylish speculative thriller, Samhita Arni skilfully combines her love for mythology with riveting storytelling.

“Pacy, gritty and very clever.” — Samit Basu

“Of late, a jungle of mythological retellings seems to have sprouted on Indian bookshelves. But this highly original take by Samhita Arni is a rare exception. A refreshing even radical revisiting brings new insights while providing a thrilling read.” — Ashok Banker

“Samhita Arni started telling stories from the Mahabharata, in an enchanting way, to her grandmother. And here she gets entangled at the same time in the Ramayana and today’s world.” –Roberto Calasso