Faces in the Water by Ranjit Lal is, on the surface, a surreal story of a fifteen-year-old boy, Gurmi, who discovers the faces of three girls looking up at him from the water of a well.
In reality, it exposes the dark side of Indian family life where the girl child is murdered at birth without any qualms because Indian society is obsessed with its sons.
The Diwanchand family is proud that its women produce only sons, with each generation being ‘blessed’ with a male offspring.
When Gurmi is sent to stay at their farmhouse, he comes upon the girls who live at the bottom of the well, and who manage to communicate with him. Life changes when the family is confronted with the horrible crime of murdering its daughters.
Ranjit Lal has done the nation great service by informing young adult readers about the hypocrisies that infest Indian society and takes on a burning issue of the killing of female children, whether before or after birth.
Puffin Books
(Penguin)
Price Rs.199