New Delhi, Aug. 23 -- Arathi Menon's novel Da is bookended by two years that had a profound impact on personal freedoms in India. The story begins in 2013, when the protagonist, Ved, is 13 years old, and the Supreme Court has just set aside a landmark judgement, passed by the Delhi high court in 2009, in order to reinstate the draconian Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which had criminalised consensual same-sex relationships for over 150 years. By the end of the book, in 2018, another bench of the same court overturns the earlier ruling by reading down the antiquated law, giving hope to the queer community and promising protection from persecution.

Between these two momentous events, set five years apart, Ved's life changes dramatic...