In India, as everywhere, the young want to break with tradition and the old struggle to keep it. In Bangalore

where software billionaires, beggars, and the legacy of the Raj combine and collide, the clash between old-

fashioned parents and their Americanised young is particularly fraught.

From traditional Indian mothers urging their Westernised children towards marriage to orthodox

chauffeurs struggling with racy employers, The Red Carpet is a witty and humane collection of stories which subverts familiar themes of family, love and cultural identity in an outstanding debut.