Set in the tea plantations of Sri Lanka, Mirage traces the lives of Valli and her family, migrants from a village in Tamil Nadu in search of a better livelihood. The novel depicts the lives of indentured labourers working in these plantations and explores the social structure and the norms of plantation life—an arena defined by economic and sexual exploitation. Through Valli’s world, we gain insight into the complex social relationships – between husband and wife, parent and child, worker and supervisor, friend and neighbour – in these remote plantations. Mirage, translated from the Tamil Thoorathu Pachai, records human dignity in the face of human brutality. The novel chronicles a hitherto ignored piece of human history.

Rare is the intimate knowledge that Kokilam Subbiah has of the countryside of the hills of Sri Lanka, the people living there, and of the economic and social relations prevailing on the tea plantations. The novel, written in a strongly realistic manner, emphasises the strength of forces (like drought and famine) as well as of the social pressures obstructing human freedom.