Dustria is a speculative fiction novel

Dustria, my debut fantasy, is out now! Order from your favourite retailers. Happy reading!

Dark, disturbing and beautiful.

Peter Cox, Litopia

Dustria is a dark, poetic dive into addiction, power, and redemption—a literary fantasy gem waiting to be discovered.

Reedsy Discovery, Featured List, Best Fantasy Books

About Dustria

Sula, a gifted, young surgeon, makes a terrible mistake, and flees to Dustria, a land of monsters and broken things, to punish herself. But she doesn’t really learn from her mistakes until she is presented with a situation where she must choose between confronting her past or continuing down an unexamined path. Dustria is for the questioning reader, examining themes in unrequited love, substance abuse, sexual diversity, and enduring friendships.

It’s set against the backdrop of a constant exploration of the question: Can we redeem ourselves from terrible mistakes made in our younger years or do we, sometimes, need to find alternate ways to frame our lives in order to grow as individuals and forgive ourselves?

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About the Author

Madhurika Sankar’s work has appeared in Five Points, Litro, The Bangalore Review, Firewords, and The Contemporary Literary Review of India, among other literary journals. The Hindu, India’s leading English-language national newspaper, has regularly featured her in the Op-Ed section. Canadian speculative fiction press Vraeyda Literary released her debut novel, Dustria, in November 2024.

The book was written for, read by, and now in memory of my beloved father, N Sankar.

The author would be delighted if you delve into the World of Dustria, and take the precious time to leave a review on these platforms. Thank you!

Published Short Works (Fiction & Nonfiction)

20/10/2021

Neptune's Storm in Litro

When I was a little girl, my father would take the family to the hills in the summer as an escape from our perpetually sweltering nook of the world. Kodaikanal. That’s the name of the hill town in which we’d vacation.

20/10/2021

Juxtaposition Country in Rock & Sling

After quite a bit of planning, testing, and replanning, we will be launching a new version of the website within the net couple months. We hope to re-engage our readers,

21/05/2021

Sing Into Place in Visible

If I could look back as an old woman, and reflect upon my life, upon moments where everything literally changed by paradigms in but a few minutes, I know the death of my loved ones would rank first.

20/11/2022

The Discriminatory Indian in The Courtship of Winds

There are people in India who won’t even walk in the shadows cast by certain people: Those who are perpetually shadowed by their own heritage.

20/10/2020

The Incandescence of Boredom in The Bangalore Review

Nandu turns five today. I’m given a list of things to get for the birthday party. Crayons, extra paper cups, Scotch tape

20/10/2020

Maiden Over in Firewords

From the quiet power of nature in A Summer Fjord, to the intense emotional ‘wildness’ of a provoked woman in Maiden Over,

04/11/2021

Crouching Liar, Hidden Flagon in Contemporary Literary Review India

There are unfettered moments from our youth that stand out like shiny stones, little smooth pebbles glistening in a flowing brook, perfectly formed and brilliantly capturing the joy of those times.

13/06/2022

The Bones of Perfection in Drunkmonkeys

Nandita. That is my name. Born of sun and sand, I found myself on shingled shores, in a way of life very different from mine. People counted Time differently, there. The bread tasted different. The air was tangy.

08/08/2021

The Shadowseeker in The Landing Zone

The ink that drips from the tip of my pen fortifies my thoughts into crisp, round words, words that seem sure of their place on the page.

01/08/2019

Cauldron of Sexual Misconduct in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

As India boldly leaps into space and proudly increases its tiger population, feats all deserving praise, foreign investors leave this increasingly disturbing landscape of cultural hegemony and faux-nationalistic fervour.

01/05/2019

We Are All Similar in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

silhouettes vector. Social icon. Flat style design We are living in an increasingly polarised world. When we draw lines in the sand to demarcate our socio-cultural and religious identities, the consequences are violent.

20/05/2019

A Callous Response in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

In India, the informal sector accounts for over 80% of non-agricultural employment. This is a staggering number that has had unprecedented significance in the past few weeks,

23/04/2019

The Anatomy of Beauty in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

With great hotness comes great responsibility,” says the adorably vapid Haley Dunphy on the hit U.S. sitcom Modern Family.

24/06/2020

Crop of Ironies in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

It is ironic that it took a devastating pandemic to force the government’s hand for long-overdue agrarian reforms. Amendments have been made to the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

25/03/2019

Deconstructing Addiction in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

Acclaimed musician Sarah McLachlan sings in her addiction anthem Angel: “You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie.

12/08/2019

Pipe Dreams for Water Transfer in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

Last month, the ‘Chennai water train’ made its poignant, slow arrival into the city, carrying 2.5 million litres of water for its parched residents.

24/06/2019

Creating Sanctuaries of Hope for Migrant Workers in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

There is a wilderness within our borders. It’s so vast that it covers an entire nation, with around 100 million inhabitants, one-fifth of our labour force

24/06/2007

Real and Surreal in The Hindu (Op-Ed)

k im Ki-Young's "lodo" juxta- K poses South Korea's post- War state of flux (caused by modernisation and challenges to cultural identity) and a surreal world with demons, sha- mans, occult and fantastical is- and.

20/10/2001

Chasing Butterflies in The Avenue

My father would make business trips to Australia when I was a child. I knew this land to be different from America, the other place he would travel to, because he’d said, though there were white people here, also, everything was upside down.

26/01/2026

Fire in the Sun in Five Points

I would sneak into my father’s dressing room as a little girl, when the midday sun was at its sweltering peak, safe in the knowledge that he was at the office.