The Other Side Of The Table explores how relationships can stay alive even over long distance and through many years, if the people share a true connection with each other. Abhi and Uma, the characters in the book are childhood friends. Both of them choose medicine as their profession. Abhi eventually leaves India and trains as a neurosurgeon in London and settles down in that country. Uma enters medical college when Abhi begins his training in London. They keep in touch by writing letters to each other regularly. Abhi provides help and advice to Uma as she progresses through her studies and makes the decision to be a surgeon, an unusual choice for a woman in India. She finds support for her choice from Abhi and dares to pursue her dreams. Life interferes in their dreams and both make mistakes in their personal lives and suffer for it. Through it all, they support each other, emotionally and intellectually, staying in touch continually, whatever the turbulence in their lives. For Abhi, who had lost his parents at a young age, Uma is the one firm connection he has with India. She keeps alive the connection through her descriptions of Bengali traditions and the festivals she celebrates each year. For Uma, Abhi is the one person who supports and understands her, even though he lives in a different continent. The Other Side Of The Table continues their epistolary relationship over a period of ten years, the two characters slowly maturing over the period, as they experience the different aspects of life, both the good and the bad.