Goenda Ekenbabu

The character Ekenbabu had been introduced in my very young age and though I remembered the general nature of the stories, the character would had gone into oblivion but for the fact that I stumbled upon this while searching from something else in the Book fair stalls. But on the first opportunity I did not buy it, thinking that at this age this may not be the thing I want though the interest was kindled. So after a few years more when I again got curious about it, I think I couldn't help but got hold of the same, surprised to notice that the price hadn't increased (I remembered the price when I first looked upon it).

Thus again Ekenbabu with his typical miserly attitude of everything personal except his intellect seemed to freshen my spirits up. With a touch of slightly mature content, of which the author acknowledges in the backside, the content runs as

• Greenwich Kando
• Dhaka Rahasya Unmochan
• Harappar Shilalipi

Staying as guest to the narrator Bapi and the only frank critic of his nature, Pramatha, Ekenbabu gets involved with mysteries in the US. But sometimes he even solves dormant cases that had occurred long ago but had kept the slight trail alive to be sniffed up by Ekenbabu like in the second one where a single doubt and a group of snaps were enough for the sleuth to unearth a crime comitted months earlier. In these he is helped by his fan cum police Captain Stuart who gets him all the data that he requires. At other times he is seen solving cases on his own, just like while staying at an aquintance's reside ce during his absence in the first of the narratives, where incidents that seemed so ordinary is found to mask a grave evil. But if the client refuses to proceed in certain other instances like the final one, it is Ekenbabu's sheer eagerness to clear the confusions that unearths the truth. Thus the readers will surely enjoy the stories as not only the plots are interesting but also the storytelling is simple devoid of any undue deviations.

The Room on the Roof ~ Vagrants in the Valley

I was introduced to Ruskin Bond not quite a long time back but it took only two books, the first being a collection of ghost stories that I have already spoken about and the other being this one, to make me his fan.

As the title page truly summarises the content, the two novellas The Room in the Roof and  Vagrants in the Valley explores the youth as it steps into adolescence. Set in the post independence period of the country, Rusty, an Anglo-Indian orphan tries to identify himself with the place where he is brought up. His guardian and the immediate neighbourhood being the remnants of the so called British nobility, he was strictly shunned from mixing with the Indian boys. But his rebellious age seemed too much for the cane happy guardian as Rusty runs away to explore his youth to the fullest and search for his heritage and root. In this he gets acquainted at different time with several local lads whose points of view, so different from his own, not only makes him more mature, but he seems to find the fascinating variations truly reflecting the country where he is born. The newly acquired freedom not only makes way for adventures but also introduces many emotions that he never felt before. Thus as he revels in fun filled days, the sense of responsibility also grows parallely. His search gets a new dimension as he stumbles across his father's belongings that gives a twist to the story and his direction in life.

This is the gist of the stories. But the true beauty of the narratives lies in the way India is revealed in her true colours and smell. Be it the jostling crowd of the third class compartments, the outstretched helping hand of the stranger, the wicked alliance of the thief and the businessman, the warm welcome to the homeless, the spirit of the country seemed never to have been more impeccably described. The simple language in which the most complex of incidents have been described makes it even more fascinating. The best part is the pace of the stories which never becomes slow yet remaining gentle. I have been a fan of R.K. Narayan who showed me the lively South India, Bond illustrates the Himachal in the way nobody else does. Thus at the culmination when the protagonist starts his onwards journey of freedom, the heart yearns for his next escapade.

Byculla to Bangkok

Sequel to Dongri to Dubai, the book traces the evolution of the Maharashtrian mafia and is even more fast paced than the predecessor. The narrative style is more of a collage of anecdotes and thus chronologically overlapping in parts. But the central theme is as chilling as ever. The socio-political aspect has been more critically analysed which makes it more haunting. Taking its birth from the socio-economic condition that allowed exploitation of the Maharastrian youth, the lust of the few made the evil even more dreaded. Murders were committed at daylight, gangs were formed and broken, smuggling networks became bafflingly intricate, police became mere spectators. In this situation were ushered in the encounter specialists, heroes who quickly turned the tables. But the ruthlessness of evil seemed to grow only. Some turned to politics while other fled to foreign lands. A state of confusion made apprentices to turn against their mentors as an age of treachery prevailed. Revenges were the order of the day and suddenly it seemed that the underworld is split in two. But this was only the broader divide. Internal to the split world, the zone was again divided into sects that took turns to rise and fall. Zaidi recounts the evolution of the mob where the battle for supremacy is defined in blood and gore.

A Silent Witness

A curious case presents itself starting with a vanishing deadbody that continues with a series of attempts in the life of a person without any apparent motive. But convenient coincidences pile up to ascertain the importance of something which seems to make sense only to the expert. Narrated from the perspective of Jardine, the story flows with a slow but sure rhythm that fascinates the readers as mystery unfolds while the solution too is hinted in more than one instances. Unlike the usual narrator Dr. Jervis, the beauty of the story lies in Jardine's revelations of not only Dr. Thorndyke's skills but also his own maturity that had in store some surprises for him. The forensics of the case are equally surprising and shows the analytical mind's supremacy in establishing the truth that is literally dug out from the ashes. The ever enthusiastic Polton plays his part with his versatility ranging from kitchen to laboratory while Dr. Jervis freshens the mood while particiapting in the adventure. Thus a fine story, woven at the time when the instruments of science were not so developed as today, fascinates the readers with the extent of innovation within the boundary of technology that achieves the apparently impossible.