One and Three Quarters by Shrikant Bojewar, translated by Vikrant Pande

A BITING, SATIRICAL FABLE ON THE MECHANICS OF POWER AND MORALITY IN MODERN INDIA.

What does it take to climb the social ladder? For young Pitambar—known as 'Langdya' due to his physical disability—the journey begins not with hard work, but with the ruthless opportunism of a dalal (middleman). From blackmailing his school principal to navigating the cutthroat corridors of power in Mumbai’s Mantralaya, Langdya’s rise is as improbable as his closest advisor: Latthya, a gossip-loving tomcat whose insights into human politics are as sharp as they are surreal.

Shrikant Bojewar’s One and Three Quarters (originally published in Marathi as Pavane Don Payancha Manus) is a masterclass in social satire. By blurring the lines between human ambition and animal instinct, Bojewar delivers a stinging, often humorous, and deeply perceptive commentary on the moral compromises that have come to define post-Independence India. This is a story about the "fixers" who operate in the shadows and the sociopolitical machinery that keeps them in power. A must-read for anyone who appreciates literature that is both wildly imaginative and uncomfortably real.