Three extraordinary plays by Gurcharan Das with a new introduction by the author The prize-winning Larins Sahib is a historical play set in the 1840s—a confused period after the death of Ranjit Singh when the British first arrived in the Punjab. Mira, 'a rite of Krishna for five actor-dancers', explores what it means for a human being to become a saint through the story of Mirabai, the sixteenth-century Rajput princess–poet. 9 Jakhoo Hill, the third play in this volume, is set in the autumn of 1962 in Simla. It examines a number of themes—the changing social order with the rise of a new middle class (while the old class foolishly clings on to spent dreams), the hold of Indian mothers on their sons and the eventual betrayal of sexual love.This trio of unusual plays, written by Gurcharan Das when he was in his twenties, will interest both general readers and theatre buffs.

A riveting account of love and desireIndia is the only civilization to elevate kama-desire and pleasure-to a goal of life. Kama is both cosmic and human energy, which animates life and holds it in place. Gurcharan Das weaves a compelling narrative soaked in philosophical, historical and literary ideas in the third volume of his trilogy on life's goals: India Unbound was the first, on artha, 'material well-being'; and The Difficulty of Being Good was the second, on dharma, 'moral well-being'. Here, in his magnificent prose, he examines how to cherish desire in order to live a rich, flourishing life, arguing that if dharma is a duty to another, kama is a duty to oneself. It sheds new light on love, marriage, family, adultery and jealousy as it wrestles with questions such as these: How to nurture desire without harming others or oneself? Are the erotic and the ascetic two aspects of our same human nature? What is the relationship between romantic love and bhakti, the love of god?