Come Before Evening Falls

Manjul Bajaj

In a society governed by strict marriage rules and the diktats of the Khap, Jugni knows love is not an option; her beloved uncle, whose unspoken favourite she has always been, will die if he ever learns of this betrayal of family honour; her brothers, her grandmother who has brought her up, their social standing in the village, everything will be lost; she could end up a corpse hanging from a tree. She cannot – must not – meet Raakha again.

And yet... and yet...

Set in the Rohtak Division of the erstwhile Punjab Province in the year 1909 – but as relevant today as a hundred years ago – Come, before Evening Falls paints a poignant picture of a young Jat girl torn between family loyalty and the undeniable impulse of love, as compelling as it is doomed.