The Rock Babas and Other Stories is a map of human fragilities and resilience that is as true in the Himalayas as it is in the state of Georgia. An ageing tycoon, Takahashi Watanabe, donates his fortune to charity when faced with a terminal illness, in an attempt to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Special Agent Jackson Holder, an African-American agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation overcomes racial biases to crack a homicide with domestic hate crimes undertones. Swiss Hotelier Helmut Kauffman’s transforms under the tutelage of the eponymous ‘rock babas’, a group of monks playing rock and roll and living high up in the Himalayas. A deposed dictator in prison reflects on his life and times. Thought-provoking and mystic, profound and light of touch, caustic and comic, Ameya Prabhu’s sparkling debut is an ode to the challenges life throws up and to the people who rise up to meet them.