The lives of Roshanaara and Jahanaara— two sisters, named after princesses— are anything but happy. Their sufferings take them on different, individual paths, while their love for each fails to hold their contrasting personalities together. Roshanaara— her obedience, sincerity and fading youth and Jahanaara— defiance, dependence and blossoming desires, are like day and night.   

Roshanaara, who is older takes responsibility of her then infant sister- upon their mother’s death- as well as of the poverty and the decaying household. Jahanaara, brought up lovingly but in harsh circumstances, dreams of a different world. However, her plans for a new life are foiled, when her sister escapes the claws of the fateful house in the darkness of the night. 

And thus, their story begins.  

On their journey, one of the sisters meets Sitara— a loving and lively transgender, who becomes a guide and mother. 

A tale of depression, anxiety, love, deceit and murder; this story is a poem of the circumstances that a woman and transgender face in a South Asian society. This book is a marriage between allegory and philosophy; a take on Ghalib’s famous sonnet, a poetic marvel. It takes the reader on an enthralling trip of imagination as well as contemplation, addressing coming-of-age issues and taboos.