New Delhi, July 27 -- Sachin Kundalkar's new novel in translation, Silk Route, was first published in the original Marathi as Monochrome, Volume 1: Reshim Marg (2023), ostensibly as part of a projected series. Rendered into English recently by Aakash Karkare, it's as slim as the author's earlier work, Cobalt Blue, which was translated by Jerry Pinto in 2013, and inspired a film of the same name in 2022.

Apart from their brevity, the two books share other affinities. Like Tanay, one of two protagonists of Cobalt Blue, Nishikant, who is at the centre of Silk Route, is a sensitive man. He shares a tragic past with his sister Nalini, as Tanay does with his sister Anuja. Both men also grapple with their desires through their formative years. ...