Taking a break and immersing herself in various readings ultimately led to a significant breakthrough. Gopi is attracted to Ged’s stammer because “it seemed like you were drifting close to him in the silence”.

Interestingly, before embarking on her writing career, Chetna Maroo had worked as an accountant, a lesser-known facet of her professional journey. With Pa, she spends hours “ghosting”, which means playing with something crucial missing – the ball – in a practice that seems more significant “than a rehearsal or drill”. In a reflective moment about her creative process, Chetna Maroo shared insights during an interview, where she explained that the book had been essentially crafted as a compilation of dense short stories, mostly in the first person. Recently a friend asked me if the book has something of the detective story about it, with Gopi trying to find her way, piecing together the clues of small gestures, actions and fragments of overheard conversations; she has little to go on and since she’s dealing with the mysteries of loss, there are no answers for her.This conveys all the tensions – between care and resentment, responsibility and envy – that play out over the course of the story. The narrative of ‘Western Lane’ revolves around the life of an 11-year-old girl named Gopi and her intricate relationships within her family.

I have to trust that the work will benefit in the end from the rhythm and slow quality of this attention.

The tension is heightened by squash-obsessed, emotionally uncommunicative Pa; fearful Aunt Ranjan is the obstacle that stands in Gopi’s way. I didn’t have a plot or outline for the whole novel, but I had a sense that the story would turn on this one question: would Pa bring himself to let one of his daughters go? Whenever she felt adrift during her writing, she would revisit that opening page, which she considered a steadfast anchor for her creative orientation. Soon Gopi discovers a talent that draws the attention of Ged, the son of the club’s white manager, who becomes her training partner; and Maqsud, a Pakistani businessman and avid squash player who convinces Pa to enter his daughter into a tournament. Cautioned by a concerned relative to find a healthy outlet for his daughters, Pa turns the family’s casual weekly squash game at a local sports center into daily, determined training sessions.