Lockdown Liaisons: Book 4: Beach House Birthday and Other Stories

by Shobhaa Dé

As the world is shaken by a virus, Shobhaa De – a writer who understands the human heart and how it beats – felt the need to document not just what she is going through personally but what the entire world is experiencing. And out of this need emerged many unique narratives ...  Lockdown Liaisons is a collection of short stories, from the varying perspectives of both men and women – young and old, brave and cowardly, cheerful and weighed down – each story an unique offering from a writer who understands how very fragile human relationships can be as they break, suffer and are redefined under trying circumstances.   Through these stories you will meet a host of interesting characters, dealing with the lockdown in ways that are unusual and unique. There is the woman who measures her life against the whistles of her neighbour’s pressure cooker, the doctor who tries to feebly justify a hard decision that she takes and the Bollywood star who is stuck in his lavish weekend home and raves and rants to no avail! Yet another narrative tells us about a wealthy and difficult old woman who is forced to spend lockdown in her caregiver’s small flat.  

41 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 20, 2020

About the author

Shobha Rajadhyaksha known as Shobhaa Dé is an Indian columnist and novelist. She graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai with a degree in psychology. After making her name as a model, she began a career in journalism in 1970, during the course of which she founded and edited three magazines – Stardust, Society, and Celebrity.
In the 1980s, she contributed to the Sunday magazine section of the Times of India. In her columns, she used to explore the socialite life in Bombay lifestyles of the celebrities. At present, she is a freelance writer and columnist for several newspapers and magazines.
De is married to Dilip De, her second husband and they have six children from their first marriages. She lives in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai.

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nobody in their wildest dreams might have thought in 2018 that they would celebrate birthdays over zoom calls in the future.


The pandemic forced us to do such unbelievable things. Some people even forgot to remember their birthdays due to the bedlam that happened all around them. This book tries to discuss a Birthday in a Beach house during the pandemic.

The author also discusses the work pressures the healthcare workers had to face due to COVID.

“Looking after a COVID ward in an overcrowded public hospital is not a joke. The worst part was the PPE suit. I used to feel like a broiled lobster when I got into it.”

It is good to see the author trying to view the pandemic from every angle of society.