“Wasn’t everyone really trying to get somewhere?” It’s a question Mumbai-based author Rohit Trilokekar poses to his reader, right in the middle of his recently-released novel, The Perfect Outside (1889 Books, UK). This question also seems to occupy his charming protagonists, Polly the macaw and Fluffy the Persian cat, the pets of one Mr Wadia, an eccentric Parsi gentleman, who is also a collector of antique clocks.

Rarely do novels revolve around an idea. In Trilokekar’s book, it’s about the life inside versus that outside. How often have you heard animals and birds philosophise about this? His small cast of loveable characters make you feel for them, and the world that they inhabit.