This year's Boston Book Festival One City One Story choice is 'Dumba Chora,' by Waltham resident Chandreyee Lahiri. We are thrilled to host Lahiri for an author talk during which time you can ask her about her story, her background, and writing in general. Copies of the story will be available at the library in mid-September.

The short story is set in Sundarbans, a culturally and ecologically important region which spans the vast Delta of the Ganges in Bangladesh and India. It follows the story of newlyweds Shekhar and Sutapa, as well as their boatman, Rehman, as they spend the night on a boat stuck in the delta. 'Dumba Chora” explores universal themes of human trust and connection against a vivid and evocative natural background.

Chandreyee Lahiri was born in Kolkata, India, but spent parts of her childhood in Africa and various parts of the Middle East before returning to the homeland in her teens. She moved to the USA for a graduate degree in geography that led to a 25 year career in GIS for environmental management. She lives in Waltham with her husband and fourteen-year-old son, who often provides fodder for her stories. Over the years she has scratched her itch for writing in the thin slivers of free time that exist in the life of a working mother. This has taken the form of blogging, running flash fiction groups, curating a children’s magazine for her son, entering contests, and participating in public storytelling (in the tradition of ‘The Moth’).

The author will also conduct a writing exercise, using the prompt being promoted by the One City One Story website. Have your laptop or pen and paper ready to write! You may read 'Dumba Chora' and find details about the writing contest here: https://bostonbookfest.org/ one-city-one-story/

Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRLjxdVoR8o