Erendira, the protagonist of this heart-rending tale of exploitation and the imagination of freedom, is symbolic of the under-aged trafficking networks and its resilient survivors across India. In Taboo, metred into rhythm in her inimitable style, Nirmala Govindarajan plunges into the context of disturbing crime, trafficking and unfreedom. Flying high in the Himalayan ranges, weaving a trail through Coimbatore, Ooty, Chandigarh, Khandala and the shipping town of Alang, diving down to the southern-most tip of India and onwards to Sri Lanka, Erendira, through many languages and cultures unearths the forbidden identity of a sex worker on a footpath. Finally, you emerge questioning the intent of our society and political organizations to stop this and the utter disregard for such questions in our democracy.

Nirmala Govindarajan is an author, journalist, and social sector documentarian. She believes in creating an equal world through her work and writing. Taboo is born out of her experience of documenting under-aged girls who are kidnapped, and trafficked. Her novel Hunger's Daughters (2018) is inspired by young breadwinners, primarily in Orissa, Jharkhand and Karnataka. Nirmala has authored The Community Catalyst, recommended reading for civil services aspirants (2016), and co-authored Mind Blogs 1.0, the first blog-to-book format (2010). In 2014, Nirmala co-curated the first edition of the Times Literary Carnival, Bangalore and in 2016, she conceptualized and curated the Literary Lounge series at the British Council (BCL), Bangalore. Most recently, she has pioneered the Writer's Yatra and Reader's Yatra interactive writing and reading experiences in offbeat locations. Nirmala dabbles in theatre. She believes in harmonizing with the elements through music and plays the western classical piano and violin.