‘Masculinity is always at loggerheads between two men’: What Rahul Singh explores in his debut novel

Rahul Singh’s Unfolding may be a debut novel, but the self-assuredness of its prose belies this. Its protagonists are Rahul and Ojas, two men in an on-again, off-again relationship, and how their desires, insecurities, obligations and griefs affect their partnership. The life of the third protagonist, Ralph's household help Zubina, is intertwined with theirs as she watches it develop, sunder and come back together – and how this changes her own ideas of love.

At present, Singh is a PhD candidate in Sociology from Presidency University, Kolkata. Scroll spoke to him about the book. Excerpts from the conversation:

Tell us about how you came up with the idea of the book. Where did it begin?
I started writing the book in 2020. I don’t think there was any one moment that led to the book. Any fiction with Muslim characters, even queer ones, was mostly very political in nature and talked about the state’s role. I felt that I wanted to read more than that. I also wanted to read more about queer characters than simply their coming out or realising their sexuality. I’m not saying these narratives are not important, but they are already out there. I wanted to read something different, about intimate, domestic spaces in...

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