A cobra's bite doesn't hurt

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Kalu, kidnapped from an orphanage at the age of fourteen and trained to pick pockets, is forced into a gang of thieves in Bangalore. When Babu, their ruthless gang master, murders his best friend Ramesh, Kalu - fearing for his own life - runs away to Kolkata. While still being pursued by Babu he meets and falls in love with with Tanya, an educated girl from an upper middle-class family. This powerful novel presents life in contemporary India with vivid realism. Evocative and beautifully written, it embraces a wide range of human emotions and has many intensely dramatic scenes.