Sati - by Nisha Mehraj (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"A woman is a cursed creature."

Rina has heard these words all her life, spoken by her mother with tenderness but carrying a message that cuts deep. The phrase settles into her bones, shaping her choices and narrowing her world until the curse becomes something invisible yet ever present.

In a household bound by tradition, Rina is a devoted wife and mother. She cares for her sister, who has the mind of a child, and raises two teenagers already feeling the weight of expectations placed upon them. When her husband Salim declares their son Kabir the rightful heir and tells their daughter Noori that her place lies elsewhere, Rina begins to see the pattern clearly.

The same story is tightening around the next generation, repeating itself as a legacy of limitation and silence. Rina recognizes the inheritance for what it is: a quiet erasure, passed from mother to daughter, father to son.

But there is only so much a person can diminish before disappearing entirely. Through whispered acts of defiance, small refusals and stubborn dreams, Rina, Kabir and Noori begin to loosen the threads that hold their world together.

This is a powerful story of family, tradition and resistance, and of what happens when a woman decides that the curse ends with her.

About the Author

Nisha Mehraj is a part-time teacher and tutor who quit the rat race to tell stories of people who live in her head. Her debut novel We Do Not Make Love Here was a runner up for the Epigram Fiction Prize (2022) and nominated for the Singapore Literature Prize (2024). Her short story "Chai" was published in Mascara Literary Review (2012). Nisha lives in Singapore with her Gen Z boys, her very efficient housekeeper, and darling Molly, their four-year-old Cavachon. When not working, Nisha is throwing dinner parties just so she has an excuse to wear a sari.