The 1984 riots: 'An excavation of memory'

The riot creeps in like a mishap that ruins a thoroughly enjoyable trip, and disorients everyone who is a part of it, says Radhika Oberoi

Advertising professional and writer Radhika Oberoi's debut novel, Stillborn Season, takes the reader to the riot-torn Delhi of 1984, which she has recreated through detailed research. She tells Uttaran Das Gupta about her experiences. 

Edited excerpts: 

 Let us start by talking about the subject of your novel, the 1984 anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Why did you write about this? 
 

In my novel, the first half is more a collection of childhood snapshots as well as grown-up conversations overheard by children, who go about their business in blissful oblivion. To them, the riot means nothing