When a Mighty Tree Falls

This is the story of the 1984 riots and the effect it has on an obscure Sikh couple, Lajo and Kujlit, residing in a resettlement colony in Delhi. Their Hindu landlord, Vikram, lusts after Lajo who succumbs to his advances and conceives, though she had been childless for years. Kuljit is delighted and Vikram, she vows, will never know.Indira Gandhi's assassination triggers the birth of a premature baby. Kuljit is brutally murdered in the ensuing anti-Sikh riots, and Lajo starts afresh in 'Widow's Colony', perhaps the only one of its kind in the world. Her son, Sharan, grows up in an environment of anger and hate. Later, a reunion with Vikram makes Lajo realize that the Hindu-Sikh divide was the mischief of politicians with vested interests. Appalled at the fanaticism she has instilled in her son, she tries to undo the wrong but in vain. The inevitable follows.