Berjis Desai

on Jan 25, 2022

Berjis Desai, 64, lawyer and writer, studied at Cambridge and Bombay. A former journalist with a Gujarat daily; he retired as the Managing Partner of one of India’s leading law firms.
He is the author of Oh! Those Parsis and The Bawaji, both have received critical acclaim. Towers of Silence is his third book and first fiction novel.
An ordained Zoroastrian priest, he is acknowledged as the authentic chronicler of Parsi culture. He is married and lives in Mumbai.

About his book: This debut novel by Berjis Desai is an occult thriller around the 'Towers of Silence' where Parsis dispose their dead. It narrates the tale of an ancient Zoroastrian clan battling curses, bubonic plague, genetically disastrous marriages with first cousins, and malevolent tantrics.
This suspense studded period novel has star-crossed lovers, Sufi mystics, crusading lawyers, conscientious black magicians, scorpion bite curers; and is inspired by a real-life story. Magic and realism imperceptibly merge in this saga of ordinary men who become living saints; with their extraordinary compassion and ultimate sacrifice to save their sacred lands.
"Is every little thing hopelessly preordained and do we suffer from the illusion of decision making," asks the anti-hero of this poignant debut novel.