Song of the Cuckoo Bird

Malladi's novel follows the inhabitants of Tella Meda, a small religious community in the Bay of Bengal. The story begins in 1961, when 11-year-old Kokila arrives at the ashram. She is an orphan, and she is forced to leave her arranged marriage behind because she wants to stay at the ashram. When Malladi tells more about Tella Meda's founder, readers learn how many young girls were brought to live at the ashram. The guru attracts a lot of misfits--abused wives and their neglected children, the daughter of a prostitute, and a father who is guilty over his dauther's suicide--but he forces them to stay at the ashram. The author describes the many problems in India's caste system and shows how long it takes for people with one common goal--finding love--to realize that they need to change society in order for everyone to be happy. In every chapter, there is a historical update on India's wars, elections, and assassinations that lets readers see what happened before some of the main events happened.