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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.
Named one of “Our Most Anticipated Books of 2026” by Chicago Review of Books
Katy Gathright, in her review of the book in Washington-Unbound, says, “Chitra, of the eponymous Chitra Demands to Go Home , (Modern Artist Press, May 2026), is neither soft, wise, nor charmingly grumpy. I can’t say I love her for it—her personality is prickly without much to balance it out—but in this debut novel from Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay, I found myself loving the story precisely because Chitra is a character to chafe against.”
Jen Jumba, host of the podcast Storied Account, held a 45-minute conversation with Raj about “Chitra Demands to Go Home.” Jen said, “Raj captures the fierceness of Chitra who wants to live on her terms and how sometimes others can provide a different perspective.”
Raj was one of Poets & Writers’ Fall 2025 Fiction Fellows for their Get the Word Out publicity incubator!
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.
You can check out some of Raj’s creative nonfiction and fiction on her Substack (a favorite essay pays homage to the Netflix show “Never have I ever”). Her debut novel, “Chitra Demands To Go Home,” was published in May 2026 by Modern Artist Press.
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