Introduction to A Guardian and a Thief
A Guardian and a Thief is set in a near-future Kolkata plagued by famine, where a mother must survive for seven days before escaping to a world of abundance.
The story begins with the mother, Ma, preparing a meal in a hidden storeroom under the stairs, cooking rice and eggs while keeping a watchful eye on the window.
From the storeroom hidden under the stairs, Ma fetched a cup of rice and a sack of eggs speckled gray like the moon, then cooked, standing before the stove’s blue fire, her eye upon the window and its dusk, in which bats swooped and the neem tree shivered and a figure down on the road pedaled a bicycle, whistling, as if everything was all right.
The scene is juxtaposed with the harsh reality of the ruined city, where the heat is oppressive and the sun is relentless, making it unusual for someone to be whistling and carefree.
The mother watches as a figure, likely a thief, pedals a bicycle down the road, wondering what they will do next.
Author's summary: A mother's survival in a famine-stricken Kolkata.