GIN DRINKERS

New Delhi's liquid colonialism is on its way out. The old social order is crumbling. Those born into English-speaking privilege - Uma the England-returned graduate; Madhavi the academic and journalist Dhruv; Shantanu the civil servant and his wife Anasuya; Deekay the middle-class revolutionary; Pamela Sen the dedicated teacher; Ikram Gilchrist the famous author - are slowly but surely yielding ground to the subaltern. In the roil and rustle of this change a mysterious gang of thieves is stealing old and rare books from the houses of the well-heeled. Who are these people? Where are they taking these books? And who is the mysterious Jai Prakash? What is his secret? The Gin Drinkers is a tragicomedy of manners and a true mirror to the class and caste conflicts that define modern India.