Eleven-year-old Gopi has played squash for as long as she can remember. After the sudden loss of her mother, the game becomes her refugeand her entire world. Under the watchful eye of her grieving father, her training turns rigorous, almost relentless. As Gopi hones her skills, she begins to drift from her sisters, her life narrowing to the rhythms of the court: the serve, the volley, the silence between shots.

But the court is not empty. It holds memories, echoes of her pa, the presence of other players, and a growing bond with Ged, a boy whose talent matches her own. Within its boundaries, Gopi begins to shape an identitypart discipline, part yearning, all her own.

Chetna Maroos Western Lane is a spare, luminous coming-of-age novel that transforms the everyday into the extraordinary. With quiet grace and emotional precision, it explores how we grieve, how we compete, and how we find connectioneven in solitude.