About the Book

In the novel The Bench the author endeavours to look at the complexities of life through the prism of human emotions. The protagonist, Natasha, embarks on a journey of self-actualisation. Waiting endlessly, without hope, she sits on the hospital bench living through the trauma and tribulations of her life as her husband fights for his life after a terrible accident. The doctors and nurses befriend her as she reaches out to help others. Instead of becoming a poor helpless victim of circumstances she sets out to carve a new life for herself. Does she succeed? Is it enough for her to live with the happy memories of her brief marriage or does she succumb to her father-in-law's entreaties to remarry? The author explores all of Natasha's dilemmas with sensitivity and from an emotional perspective.

About the Author

Dr Kusum Ansal is a novelist, short story writer, poet and travelogue narrator with 32 books to her credit. The movie Panchvati directed by late Basu Bhatacharya was based on her famous novel Uski Panchvati. The screenplay and dialogues of the movie were written by her. She has also written three serials for TV of which Titliyan was very popular. She is a recipient of several literary awards—'Hindi Academy Sahityakar Samman', Sahitya Bhushan Samman and IWEC in South Africa to name a few. Kusum Ansal has a Masters degree in Psychology from Aligarh Muslim University and a PhD in Hindi literature from Punjab University.