Penguin 35 Collectors Edition: Year of the Weeds
Nestled in western Odisha sits a humble Gond settlement where Korok has devoted himself to nurturing the earth around him. His world revolves entirely around his plants and soil until Anchita arrives, an artist who inhabits the grand house overlooking his precious garden. Their quiet existence shatters when the state announces plans to raze their home. A corporation hungers for the aluminium locked beneath the sacred hill that watches over them, and the authorities, embodied by the formidable Sorkari Patnaik, intend to seize it by force. What unfolds is a collision between ordinary people and immense institutional power. Politicians converge on the village with their agendas. Activists circle, sensing an opportunity. Even armed radicals sniff blood in the water. Against this chaos of competing interests and overwhelming influence, can a solitary gardener and a young woman armed only with determination truly make a difference? Sarma captures the raw tension of communities pushed to their limits, exploring what happens when resistance meets indifference, and when two unlikely allies face down systems far larger than themselves.
- Author: Siddhartha Sarma
- Publisher: Duckbill
- Genre: Environmental Studies
- ISBN: 978-0670097548
- Pages: 212 pages