by Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay
Publication Date: May 12, 2026
A poignant debut novel that explores mother-son relationships, cross-cultural conversations, and the tribulations of getting older.
Chitra Demands to Go Home tells the story of Chitra, a 75-year-old Bengali woman who feels trapped in an assisted living facility and just wants to go home.
Chitra spent her life taking care of her children and her husband in a foreign country and managing a grand house in Kolkata, India. Now, in her mid-seventies, widowed, and with her children living their own lives, Chitra plans to travel the world and enjoy the hospitality granted to respected family elders.
However, her plans are upended when she suffers a stroke and her younger son has a heart attack. Chitra then finds herself among American strangers in the institutional blandness of Tranquil Town, an assisted living facility in Columbus, Ohio. As her temporary stay stretches longer and longer, Chitra does everything she can to avoid making friends and convince her sons to take her home.
Describing both the bitter and the sweet, Chitra Demands to Go Home explores mother-son relationships, cross-cultural conversations, and the tribulations of getting older as Chitra plots her triumphant return to her home in Kolkata.
Format: Paperback Original
ISBN: 978-1-964403-06-9
Number of Pages: 192
Price: $17.95
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Early Praise
“What fun—mixed with pathos—to experience the judgy, feisty, brittle, determined mind of 75-year-old Chitra. Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay writes about the indignities of aging far from home with heart and humor and lets readers see and sympathize not only with Chitra but also the people she puzzles and hurts. Chitra Demands to Go Home is a story for anyone growing older and wondering what it all means, searching for home, battling nostalgia, or navigating culture clashes, within and without themselves. In other words, it’s a story so many of us have been waiting for.”
—Eman Quotah, author of Bride of the Sea and The Night Is Not for You
“Mukhopadhyay gives us an extraordinary, riveting heroine in Chitra, who defies both age and expectation to long and search for a true meaning of home. Here is a novel to delight in and be transported by.”
—Nayantara Roy, bestselling author of The Magnificent Ruins
“From her room at Tranquil Town—a squat brick nursing home in Columbus, Ohio, where a yoga instructor chirps misappropriated namastes—Chitra dreams of her Kolkata house: its shutters the pale blue of winter skies, its terrace crowded with earthen flower pots, the verandah where she once took her afternoon tea. Though her legs refuse to heal, she begins to plan an impossible journey home. With crystalline prose and quiet humor, this poignant story explores the distance between longing and reality, the gulf between generations, and the unexpected grace of friendship in the most unlikely places.”
—Varun Gauri, author of For the Blessings of Jupiter and Venus
“Engaging… this novel captures the heartbreak and loneliness of homesickness but also celebrates the joy of unexpected friendships.”
—Sayantani Dasgupta, author of Brown Women Have Everything: Essays on (Dis)comfort and Delight
“Fans of A Man Called Ove rejoice! Your next favorite book is here. With Chitra, Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay has crafted a memorable main character who leaps off the page. Her story will stick with you long after you finish reading.”
—Katherine Pickett, author of Debra Lee Won’t Break
About the Author
Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay, who goes by “Raj”, originally trained as a scientist. After earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry and cellular and molecular biology, Raj launched a career in science communications. For nearly two decades, she worked as a science storyteller in various forms, including as a journalist and the leader of an award-winning custom content studio. Her science writing appeared in several print and digital outlets in the U.S. and the U.K. Raj was selected by Poets & Writers to be one of the 2025 Get the Word Out fiction fellows. Chitra Demands to Go Home is her debut novel.
Raj has lived in India, Kuwait, and Canada. She is now based in the U.S. with her partner, two children, two dogs, and two cats.
Media Features
“Fiction Has Nowhere to Hide with Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay,” a podcast episode and Substack feature with Nicole Gulotta on Slow Writing.
“Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay talks about Chitra Demands to Go Home,” a podcast conversation with Jen Jumba on Storied Account.
“From Science to Fiction: A Reluctant Scientist’s Journey to Debut Novelist,” an essay by Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay in The Writer’s Center Magazine, Summer 2026.
“When Respecting Your Elders Isn’t Quite Right,” a book review by Katy Gathright in Washington Unbound.
“Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay on Cross-Cultural Tensions in Chitra Demands to Go Home,” an interview with Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay and Amaris Castillo on Debutiful.
“See the Cover for Chitra Demands to Go Home by Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay,” cover reveal Q&A with Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay and Shreya Gupta and Adam Vitcavage on Debutiful.
“Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026,” an anticipated 2026 book in the Chicago Review of Books.
Get the Word Out: 2025 Fall Fiction Reading, a reading with the Poets & Writers GTWO Fiction Cohort.
Book Club Discussion Questions
Download the PDF below for discussion questions that you can use during your next book club meeting.
Recipe Card
In the novel, Chitra describes a Bengali fish curry recipe that she loved to make. Get the recipe below.
