“I can’t wait, I can’t wait! We’ll be out in a few days!” chirped Speckled Spud, brushing his brown jacket in excitement. But soon, joy turned to panic as floodwaters surged in, uprooting dreams. The Spud Kingdom bobbed in muddy deluge, while helpless farmers fished for their ruined crop, betrayed by seeds, ignored by the system.

She had cast a mesmerising influence on me. A day without meeting her began to seem drab, dull, meaningless. We met two or three times, and each time my heart danced in joy at the warmth of uninterrupted, heartening, candid talk... Last week, Indrani’s husband came with their two grown-up kids to find me and deliver the shocking news that left me half-dead in despair. Indrani was no more.

In a small room of the huge haveli, the midwife coaxed and cajoled the would-be mother to push, to hold on for some more time. She...