New Delhi, Oct. 20 -- In Silences, one of the finest stories in Shanta Gokhale's luminous new collection, The Way Home, 18-year-old Basant is summoned by his father Sharad, who is on his deathbed, for a private conference. As he draws his final breath, Sharad asks Basant to find out why his mother, Girija, had left their family home in Mumbai and moved to Pune-away from her husband-after her mother-in-law passed away.

Basant can't bring himself to ask his mother this question, but it pricks his conscience like a thorn. Finally, when Prof. Sawant, a friend's father, hears about Basant's dilemma, he tells him, by way of consolation, that "There are silences in every family. It is like a pact.. The silence sets everybody free except the vic...