A Haridwar pandit who maintains genealogical records of families for centuries; a professional mourner who has mastered the art of fake tears; a letter writer who overlooks the lies that a sex worker makes him write to her family back home.

These are remnants of an India that still exist in its old streets and neighbourhoods, an unshakeable sense of belonging to a time that was the everyday life of our ancestors. In The Lost Generation, Nidhi Dugar Kundalia narrates the unforgettable stories of eleven professionals-from the hauntingly beautiful rudaalis to the bizarre tasks of a street dentist-uncovering the romance, tragedy and old-world charm of India's ageing bylanes and its incredible living history.