Outside In

Ram, a twelve-year-old boy without a home in Chandigarh, India, encounters Nek Chand and his concealed sculpture garden. Their connection introduces Ram to a working sculptor, and Ram becomes his apprentice. The novel draws inspiration from Chand’s life: Nek Chand was a real Indian artist, while Ram is fictional. Chand’s sculpture garden remains on view. Ram’s encounter with the garden presents him with the prospect of a life different from the one he knows on the streets.