Fulchor by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay [Hardcover]

In Phoolchor (The Flower Thief), Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay weaves a tender and beautiful tale of unspoken love, while also introducing some uniquely captivating characters—found only in his novels. The central heroine is a young woman marked by a secret blemish in her life. She is engaged to a Bengali man living in America, but her mind occasionally wanders into whimsical thoughts. In one such moment of impulsiveness, she decides to steal flowers from the garden of her future in-laws.

This act of flower theft leads her to an encounter with another peculiar young man, who is also engaged, with his fiancée living in Kolkata. The girl is startled when she sees him—there's something familiar about him. Similarly, the young man feels an odd sense of recognition upon seeing her. Where have they met before? When? It is the girl who remembers first. Could this young man be a witness to one of the darkest, most shameful moments of her life?

What follows is a delicate and deeply moving story, which Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay masterfully narrates in his inimitable style. Phoolchor is a story as gentle as it is beautiful, blending emotional depth with a quiet elegance.