THE WEDNESDAY BOOK: An Intimate Portrait of India's Social Climbers ; Real Time: Stories and a Memoir Amit Chaudhuri Picador, Pounds 14.99

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IN THIS first collection of short stories from Amit Chaudhuri, the respected Calcutta-based author of Afternoon Raag and Freedom Song, groups and cultures rub each other up to form an aspiring Indian "middle- middle-class" some time between the Seventies and the present day. Together, the 15 stories (along with a two-part verse memoir) make for an intimate read. Often mere snatches of life from the upper rungs of Bombay and Calcutta society, Chaudhuri's tales offer titbits of the author's early experience.

Set during the regime of Indira Gandhi, "The Party" tells of Mr Gupta's eagerness to climb those rungs. His company boss, Mr Sinha- Roy (promoted to head of finance), …