I based my book Innocence on the Partition of
India in 1947. Innocence follows Shukumar, the
male protagonist. He grew up in a repressed
society like India,in which open sexuality is
taboo and kept hidden. However, in Western
culture,it is accepted and embraced as a
natural human characteristic. So, when he
settled in Europe, coming into contact with
open sexual expression had a dramatic impact.
This gave the illusion of sexual freedom and
gratification that led to social decadence and
'Hell'. Shukumar plunges himself into the
inferno to taste Hell and encounters death but
survives. Kakoli-the female protagonist who was
gang raped by the Moslem goondas during riots
and dumped into a ditch escaped death. The
author talks about the human animalistic
passion for killing and thirst for blood that
has stained the psyche of humanity.
