Cecile Rischmann

A Terrace Affair Cecile Rischmann

Madras in the 80s was an époque of Run-Away-Lover-movies, couples dying for each other, parents playing the villain, and teens falling in love with other cultures and religions. We may not have had landlines, leave alone mobile phones, and those who did have phones used code language and suffered CBI enquiries if the call fell on the wrong ears. But did that stop us from communicating? No, we took to poetry, song and whatnot.
A Terrace Affair is set in this époque. Alia, an Anglo-Indian girl, is faced with the trauma of loving a Hindu NRI boy hailing from a traditional family. Manoj, a college student, hailing from a chartered accountants' family, is more challenged than fascinated by Alia. Alia's aversion to the caste boy draws him into courting her. With the help of his friend, he plans his strategy and slowly goes for the kill.
A Terrace Affair is a sweet and haunting tale of innocent love, where young lovers waved to each other and passed messages through wrong numbers, where family scrutiny prevented frequent meets and heightened stolen moments of passion.