Chitra Demands to Go Home
India

Chitra Demands to Go Home

by Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay

Family & Heritage Literary Fiction 2026

Summary

Seventy-five-year-old Chitra is a Bengali widow who has spent much of her life caring for her family and maintaining a beloved home in Kolkata. Now, with her children grown and living their own lives, she looks forward to enjoying her independence and travelling the world. But her plans collapse when she suffers a stroke while visiting her younger son in the United States. After her son also experiences a medical emergency, Chitra finds herself in Tranquil Town, an assisted-living facility in Columbus, Ohio, surrounded by strangers and unfamiliar customs. Determined to return to India, she refuses to accept her new circumstances and relentlessly pressures her sons to take her home. Yet beneath her stubbornness lies a deeper struggle with displacement, ageing, and the loss of control over her own life. With warmth, humour, and emotional insight, Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay explores the complexities of intergenerational relationships, cultural differences, and the meaning of home. Chitra’s story challenges familiar expectations about ageing and family duty, offering a compassionate portrait of a woman determined to live on her own terms.

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About the author
Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay
Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay

Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay, who goes by Raj, is an American writer, science communicator, and novelist of Bengali heritage. She initially pursued a career in science, earning a PhD in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology from Johns Hopkins University. After completing her studies, she turned to science communication, working for nearly two decades as a science journalist, editor, and writer. Her work has appeared in various print and digital publications in the United States and the United Kingdom, and she has held editorial positions in scientific publishing. Although Mukhopadhyay built a successful career explaining scientific ideas to broad audiences, her childhood ambition was to become a novelist. She eventually returned to creative writing, drawing on her interest in human relationships, cultural identity, and the complexities of everyday life. Her debut novel, Chitra Demands to Go Home, was published by Modern Artist Press in May 2026. The novel follows an elderly Bengali woman navigating an unfamiliar American assisted-living facility and explores ageing, family obligations, and the meaning of home. Mukhopadhyay was selected as a 2025 Fiction Fellow for Poets & Writers’ Get the Word Out publicity incubator.

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Details
Published
2026
Author
Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay