New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- As a genre, memoirs are a by-product of the time you live in and the experiences you encounter in the journey called life. Arundhati Roy's "Mother Mary Comes to Me" is not only the personal account of one of the most celebrated authors of the country, but also a narration of India's political evolution from a fledgling secular republic to a state, which is flirting with religious fascism.

Mary Roy was a woman far ahead of her times and her conduct at times used to drive people around her crazy. Her early motherhood and the difficult circumstances she was compelled to bring up her child shaped her tumultuous personality.

She landed in Ooty in Tamil Nadu in a "cottage that belonged to our maternal grandfather", but ...