A full stop in India

Jyoti Mukul's book is a welcome study of the economic and emotional impact of the government's decision to shut down transport links to contain transmission of Covid-19

The Great Shutdown: A Story of Two Indian Summers

Editor: Jyoti Mukul

Publisher: HarperCollins India

Price: Rs 599

Pages: 372

As a resident of Mumbai, local trains have been my lifeline. I have relied on them to take me to college, work, dates, and social outings. I was shocked when train services came to an abrupt halt during the Covid-19 pandemic. I had never imagined a situation in which local travel would be deemed unsafe, and closed down to contain the spread of a deadly virus. Rail networks, after all, are the city’s veins and arteries. They enable supply of labour and leisure. They