Hema Macherla

Letters in the Sand Hema Macherla

Set in the 70's in a small village in India, Letters in the Sand is an engaging story of one girl's quiet rebellion against her strict, dysfunctional family and their non-negotiable plans to marry her at fifteen to any suitable boy. At birth, her future is sealed as a submissive daughter and wife and her father refuses to educate her.

"I was no better than a cow, brushed and groomed, neck and ankles festooned with bells, flowers around its horns to be put on display for someone to choose."




In this layered narrative, the political and the personal are interwoven when Kiri's beloved brother, Rajiv, runs away from home to join the extremists fighting for fair pay and justice for agricultural workers and is caught up in the escalating violence.




We follow Kiri as she persuades her strict father to let her attend school, starting years older than her class mates, and as she forms an enduring bond with her teacher. Arush is the man who educates her well beyond classroom texts, stands beside her, supports her and finally asks for her hand in marriage.




Kiri yearns to escape a life of subjugation but can she find the courage to follow a lonely, challenging path to freedom?