A brilliant debut by the master filmmaker. Mirza's narrative interweaves memories of a mother with the living political creed she believed in - the egalitarian ethos of a democratic faith coupled with a deep, inquiring faith in religion. The book begins as a letter that contains within itself a vast repertoire of literary genres ranging from the short story, poetry, interior monologue, memoir and diatribe, to travelogue, novelisation and film script. Mirza writes simply and, with a filmmaker's passion for authenticity, he makes everyday events tell a deeply complex story. In 1938, his mother, while walking back with his father from an evening show at the Eros Cinema in Mumbai, casually removed her burqa and never donned it again. This was one of the 'quietest revolutions' ever witnessed.