Explained: This article explains the political background, key decisions, and possible outcomes related to Explained : Grand Tamasha Live: Exploring ‘The Complex’ World of Post-Independence India and Its Impact and why it matters right now.
In the nearly 75 years since independence, India has undergone profound political, economic, social, and cultural transformation. In The Complex, a new novel by Karan Mahajan, readers are introduced to the fictional Chopra family as they navigate the personal and political turmoil of late 1970s India.
As each member of the family struggles to forge an identity in the shadow of patriarch SP Chopra’s legacy, buried tensions surface and rival visions of power, belonging, and ambition collide. Set against a nation in upheaval, The Complex traces the roots of many forces that continue to shape contemporary India—from political radicalization and shifting class structures to the pull of the global diaspora and the evolving meaning of family itself.
Join Milan Vaishnav, senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program and the host of Carnegie’s flagship Indian politics and policy podcast Grand Tamasha, for the show’s first-ever live event. He will sit down author Karan Mahajan to delve into the world of the Chopra family—and what its story reveals about India then and now.
A reception and book signing will follow, with copies available for purchase.