Karma

Maya never wanted to go to India. She wanted a best friend, a boyfriend, and a mother who wasn’t always immersed in grief. Instead, Maya is on a plane from Canada flying halfway around the world with none of those things - only a diary, a pen and an urn. It’s 31 October 1984. Just hours after Maya arrives in Delhi with her father Amar Singh, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is gunned down by her bodyguards. The assassination sparks riots as Sikh families are killed in retribution. During this chaos Amar disappears and Maya escapes by train to an ancient desert town. She loses her voice but finds a friend in Sandeep who offers her empathy and bonding in the aftermath of hatred and violence. A powerful coming-of-age novel, Karma is the story of how a young girl facing the demands of two cultures, endures personal tragedy yet learns forgiveness, acceptance and love. Maya and Sandeep invite the reader to look inside their diaries where in beautiful free verse entries they reveal an intimate world of secrets, confessions and longings.