Antara MukherjeeNovelist
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Antara MukherjeeNovelist
  • books
  • short stories
  • poems
  • news
  • events
  • contact
Antara MukherjeeNovelist
  • books
  • short stories
  • poems
  • news
  • events
  • contact
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© 2026 Antara Mukherjee
Beyond our Births

Beyond our Births

-A Novel

Out August 2026 in India

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Abandoned as a five year old, near the India–Bangladesh border, Nimki finds refuge with the Senguptas of Kolkata as they provide her with shelter in return for helping with domestic chores. Only, refuge can never mean sanctuary.

She yearns for the love and affection of Bina Ma, but always comes second best to Ira, her beloved daughter.

Constantly battling the anxieties of displacement and placelessness, Nimki chases her desires for a stable identity and a place to call home. Spanning nearly a decade of her life, across borderlands, this bildungsroman defies stereotypes of clean borders, homogenous nations and blood kin.

A staggeringly brilliant literary brilliant debut, Beyond Our Births is about the many arduous journeys one has to take before one is led to the discovery of the self. As in the end, we are what we become beyond our births.

Experts Speak on 'Beyond our Births'

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"A novel that forces us to question what identity can mean when your very existence is questioned. This book makes you very, very uncomfortable."

Arunava Sinha

Translator, Former Journalist, Professor of Creative Writing at Ashoka University

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"Beyond our Births tears apart conventional notions of borders, nations, family and kinship with great gentleness. Rare is writing filled with such a deep capacity to move you emotionally and with lyrical ease."

Chirag Thakkar

Senior Associate Publisher, Bloomsbury India

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"I was completely immersed in the story and it is such a significant story today, given the political landscape both countries inhabit. I was charmed by Antara’s prose. Her writing is lush and beautiful. At a time when spare prose is the chosen style, her writing feels fresh."

Jayapriya Vasudevan

Founder of Jacaranda Literary Agency

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"For people who are divided by a make-believe border, Nimki's journey becomes a metaphor to explore what liberation might really feel like, and how it may ironically involve the crossing of many borders - political and personal."

Samarth Mahajan

Filmmaker & Director of the National Award-winning documentary 'Borderlands.'

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"Nimki's journey from girlhood to womanhood is also a journey of awakening to the injustices and rebelling against them. It draws one in and leaves one with questions about our humanness and the nature of kindness"

Anukrti Upadhyay

Author, The Blue Women, Daura, Kintsugi & Bhaunri