Vikram Kapur is delighted to share his opening chapter below, and would like Young Adult readers to comment on his story.
He'll be grateful to any reader who takes the time to read and comment on this piece.
About the Story ~ Gandhi Colony
Genre: Young Adult
In 1990, Vaibhav Agrawal arrives in Delhi from a small town in a remote part of India to study English literature at Delhi University. He starts living in a room in Gandhi Colony. His life opens up once he sets aside his upper-caste prejudice and forges close relations with Mata, an elderly lower-caste woman, and Mohsin, a Muslim boy who dreams of becoming an actor.
Soon after Vaibhav starts college, he finds himself caught in a student-led strike against a government initiative to reserve government jobs for members of lower castes. He is forced to take a hard look at his own upper-caste privilege. Meanwhile, Mohsin is offered a prominent role in the colony’s Ramlila, a stage enactment of The Ramayana that is part of celebrating the Hindu festival of Dussehra.
Vaibhav can see that sectarian tensions are escalating, with Hindu zealots seeking to replace a medieval mosque in Ayodhya with a Hindu temple. Kishore, from the Temple Reclamation Front, and Aslam, from the Mosque Preservation League, have been visiting Gandhi Colony to whip up fervour for and against the issue. They stir emotions against the inclusion of Muslims in the celebration of a Hindu festival. Mohsin is kicked out of the Ramlila.
How will Vaibhav deal with this sectarian upsurge that threatens to split the place he has come to see as home? Will he and the people he loves survive with their relationships intact?
Gandhi Colony is the story of a young man coming of age at a time of caste conflict and sectarian hatred. Through his story, it captures a moment in Indian history where extremism became mainstream in India, to take over its ethos in the nineties and beyond.
Accolades for Gandhi Colony
1. An extract from Gandhi Colony won Vikram a Hawthornden fellowship for a residency at the Hawthornden Castle in Scotland in the summer of 2026.
2. The first 5000 words of Gandhi Colony was the co-winner of The Letter Review Prize for Unpublished Books in December 2025.
3. The manuscript of Gandhi Colony won the Grand Prize at the islands Book Awards in Greece and will come out in Greek translation in November 2026.
4. Gandhi Colony was also longlisted at the Page Turner Awards in 2025.
Read First Pages of Gandhi Colony
This extract is from the first chapter, entitled “Delhi”.
Read the first pages of Gandhi Colony.
The link will open in a new window, so you can come back here and post your comments below.
Vikram would like to know how readers relate to the voice and the main character, and whether they are inclined to follow his journey after reading this beginning. He thanks everyone who takes the time to read and comment.
About the Writer
Vikram Kapur has published three novels—The Assassinations, The Wages of Life and Time Is a Fire. His short stories and essays have appeared in many global publications, and his short stories have been shortlisted or longlisted in several international competitions.
He has held residencies at Hawthornden Castle, Vermont Studio Center, the Canserrat Arts Center and Under the Volcano. He has a PhD in creative and critical writing from the University of East Anglia, where he received the India-Africa bursary. He has taught in the UK, USA and India. He is currently a professor and head of English at the Shiv Nadar Institute of Eminence in India.
Follow Vikram
Follow Vikram Kapur to find out more about his stories.
Vikram, best wishes for your Test-Drive.
I liked the vivid sense of place — India, Bihar and Delhi —descriptions that don't sacrifice movement and urgency. I do want to know more about our Vaibhav's journey and to get to know him better.
Many thanks, David, for your kind words. Hopefully, someone will publish this work so that the whole world can be part of his journey.
You have a wonderful ability of being able to describe a place and make the reader feel as if we're there. Great start, truly.
Thanks. Hopefully, someone will publish this.
Hi Vikram,
I really enjoyed the smooth writing and sense of place. For me, framing the opening as the adult/older narrator looking back at this time in his life gave it an observational instead of immersive quality. I felt like I was floating above the action/events instead of being in them or experiencing them with him. I felt most immersed when he reached Gandhi Colony and the narration stayed with him in real time -- moving through the market, dodging traffic and encountering people. The character and setting give you so much to work with. I enjoyed reading the pages. Good luck with the manuscript!
It's an easy read - which is the best kind - following the difficult entry into a new city during crazy times. Right away, we get a sense of the deeper philosophy of the character - and we feel for him. Great job. Contact me if you’d like any editorial advice.
Many thanks for the kind words, Molly. There is a part I took out about his life in Ashaghar, a few pages, which I think I will put back in. That will give it more detail, and consequently immerse the reader more as well.
Many thanks for your kind words, Robin, as well as your kind offer. Will definitely consider it.
I am quite timid to share with other writers, but I'll be happy to PDF any book of mine that you might want to read.