P(n)achti Rahasya Upanyas

I will be grateful to the fan of the author who was buying a copy of this particular book standing just beside me at the Bookfair. On my enquiry about whether the book is good, she told that she did not really know but other works of the author are quality products. So I bought it partly due to her comments, more so as it is a mystery compilation but never in my remotest thinking I considered it to be at all worth. Well, it was to be proven far from correct as the mystery novellas in the volume are breathtakingly beautiful. Consisting of five novellas

• Ek Tukro Megh
• Garita Gelo Kothae
• Choker Baire
• Chokher Arale
• Angule Atatayir Naam

the volume introduces Wrishi aka Saptarshi Dasgupta as the freshest face in the world of mystery fictions with his cousin Shreya acting as his satellite though remaining absent sometimes in the investigations just like Topshe who was sometimes kept in the dark by Feluda while on track of a criminal. Wrishi not only smokes but also keeps a diary just like Mr. Mitra did during the early days of his career as a budding detective. But these are just some minor details but the actual stories will keep you gripped to the lines till the criminals are revealed.

The first story ushers Wrishi to the correct path in his career and as he matures so does the cases which includes murder too. In each of them the sleuth uses his power of deductions from the observed clues and finds evidence to corroborate them much in the same way of the styles of the traditional masters of the trade and this seems to revive the spirit which is unfortunately dying in these days of fast paced adventures where logic takes a backseat quite often. But there is some complain that might be said. Leaving all other things, the help from police seems unrealistically always true and there is an unrealness in the sudden maturity of Wrishi as the cases come. But it must also be said that such a refreshing volume of pure mystery laced with a touch of humour made me want for more and also made me an immediate fan of the sleuth.

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.

Grandmother's Tale

The story of Grandmother's Tale, as explained in the foreward, is the borderline between fiction and biography. The novelella is about Narayan's great-grandmother Bala and her search for her errant husband Viswa who left apparently on a pilgrimage soon after their marriage at a very ripe age, as was the custom at those times. Unable to bear the burden of whispering neighbours and determined to find the husband who deserted her without any strong reason, Bala went forward all alone, emboldened only by her strong will to reconcile with Viswa. What happened next was an amazing tell of courage masked by Narayan's signature comic style as related to him by Ammani - his grandmother whose memory tried to bring back almost everything but the trifling details that makes the narrative lacking in justification at certain parts but enhances the charm in no little way and can be considered as 'grandmotheretic' (it rhymes with the word 'poetic' and I think it carries the meaning I want to emphasize) justice which every Indian is well aware of. To the fans of Narayan's works this will augment the appeal like always but the added attraction is R.K. Laxman's illustrations that again makes this priceless.