Shipping, returns, privacy and terms.

Shipping & delivery

Where we deliver. Anywhere in India, to a street address or PO box. We do not ship outside India yet; write to us and we will tell you when that opens.

What it costs. Delivery is included in the price of every printed edition during the pre-order. There is no cash-on-delivery option — every order is prepaid, which is what lets us keep delivery free.

When it leaves. Pre-orders dispatch from Chennai on release, by 14 November 2026. Orders placed after release dispatch 1–2 working days after release (pre-orders dispatch on release day).

How long it takes. Metro cities usually receive the book 3–5 days after dispatch; the rest of India 5–8 days. Books travel by India Post and partner couriers. You get an email with a tracking reference the day your parcel leaves.

How it is packed. Each copy is sealed in a moisture sleeve and a rigid book mailer sized to the book, so corners and spine arrive as they left. Digital editions are emailed on release day to the address on the order.

Returns, refunds & cancellations

Cancelling a pre-order. Cancel any time before dispatch for a full refund, no questions asked. Reply to your confirmation email or write to hello@thesuspendedchord.in with your order number.

Damaged, defective or wrong item. Tell us within 7 days of delivery with a photograph. We send a replacement at our cost, or refund you in full, including any delivery you paid. We arrange the return pickup where a courier serves your address; otherwise we refund the postage you spend.

Late delivery. If your order has not arrived within 15 days of the dispatch email, we trace it and, if it is lost, replace it or refund it — your choice.

Changed your mind. Unsigned, unopened printed copies can be returned within 7 days of delivery for a refund of the book price; return postage is yours. The Fan Edition is signed and inscribed to a name you choose, and its songs are digital, so it cannot be returned once dispatched, except where defective.

How refunds are paid. To the original payment method, through Razorpay, within 5–7 working days of our confirming the refund. Your bank may take a few more days to show it.

Grievance officer

Under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, the person responsible for consumer complaints about this site is:

Every complaint receives an acknowledgement within 48 hours and a resolution within one month of receipt. Please include your order number.

Prices, taxes & country of origin

The price you see is the total you pay. Printed books are exempt from GST in India, and delivery within India is included, so there is nothing added at checkout.

• Paperback: ₹449 including delivery
• Fan Edition: ₹999 including delivery

Country of origin: India. Printed and bound in India. Seller: Varun Rudran, trading as The Suspended Chord, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The ISBN, page count and format appear on every edition card and in the footer.

Stock counts, run sizes and pre-order dates shown on this site are real. We do not use countdown timers or “people viewing” counters.

Payments & security

Payments are taken by Razorpay, an RBI-licensed payment aggregator, on its hosted checkout: UPI (app-to-app on your phone, QR on a computer), cards, net banking and wallets. Your card or UPI details never touch our servers, and we never store card numbers — only the last four digits and the issuer, for reconciliation.

Every payment is verified by signature before an order is confirmed, and every confirmation email carries your order number.

Privacy

This notice is written for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Varun Rudran is the data fiduciary.

What we collect and why. To fulfil an order: your name, email, mobile number and delivery address, and what you bought. To sign a copy: the name you ask for. For the newsletter: your email and the page you joined from. For reviews: the name and city you choose to show.

Who else sees it. Razorpay (payment), the courier or India Post (delivery — name, address and phone only), Resend (email delivery) and Supabase (secure hosting of our order records, in an encrypted database). No advertising networks, no data brokers, no sale of your data, ever.

How long we keep it. Order records for as long as tax law requires; newsletter addresses until you unsubscribe.

Your rights. Ask us at any time what we hold, correct it, or have it erased where the law allows. Every newsletter email has a one-tap unsubscribe. Write to hello@thesuspendedchord.in; the grievance officer above handles data complaints too.

Cookies and storage. We set no advertising or tracking cookies. Your browser keeps your cart and your sound preference locally so they survive a reload; nothing is sent to us until you check out.

Terms of sale

• An order is confirmed when Razorpay reports the payment captured and you receive the confirmation email. Until then no contract exists and any amount debited is refunded automatically.
• Pre-order dispatch dates are our best estimate. If release slips by more than 30 days we tell you and you may cancel for a full refund.
• Every Fan Edition copy is signed by the author, by hand. If we ever announce a limited run, its size never changes once announced.
• The Fan Edition’s songs and booklet are licensed for your personal use and may be played or read on any device you own; they may not be resold or redistributed.
• The text, songs, artwork and design of The Suspended Chord are © 2026 Varun Rudran. All rights reserved; rights enquiries welcome by email.
• These terms are governed by the laws of India; courts at Chennai have jurisdiction, without prejudice to your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Accessibility statement

We want everyone to be able to read about, hear and buy this book. This site is built to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2, Level AA: it works with a keyboard alone, every image and control has a name, text can be enlarged to 200% and reflows down to 320 pixels, colours meet contrast minimums, and moving backgrounds stop when your device asks for reduced motion or when you choose “Pause motion” in the menu. The songs never start on their own.

Three-dimensional and animated elements always have a still, fully readable fallback. The chapter excerpt is a real web page you can read with a screen reader or in reader mode.

If something does not work for you, tell us at hello@thesuspendedchord.in and we will fix it, and send you what you needed in a format that works meanwhile. This statement was last reviewed on 7 September 2026.