K(n)aatae K(n)aatae - II

The second volume in the series contains three stories, one adapted from Gardner’s novel and the other two from that of Agatha Christie. These Indianised versions are nicely woven with the suspense kept alive till the very last chapters but the first two Uler K(n)aata and A-Aa-Kaw Khuner K(n)aata seemed to have ended very hurriedly and not at all like the third one Sarmeya Genduker K(n)aata. The way the first two plots unfold and the way the climaxes are reached are quite at different paces in the first and the second pieces.

Keeping the sleuthing and adventure part aside, which are of course as good as the originals and also the erudition of the narratives, there are certain features that are irritatingly monotonous. The writer, being and Engineering graduate and a quality scholar could not resist the temptation of using analogies that may only be appreciated by a few and this may exclude the most ardent lover of mystery. Without compromising on the mystery that may have been made more and more complex, if required, the writing could have been more easily refined. Secondly is the use of too much flowery language that shifts the interest to literature rather than mystery. Thirdly is some undue use of humour at places that again lightens up the thrill of the adventures. Finally but more importantly is the tendency of creating a British ambience everywhere. Starting from referring the mere elderly individuals as ‘Saheb’ to focusing on breakfast habits, after dinner drinks and finally making an entire story based on a Christian town - the basic idea of presenting an Indianised detective version of the Western counterparts, that the author stressed upon in the earlier volume, seems to vanish completely. The romance which is due to any detective story, here seems to be more artificially generated than that which naturally evolves in this genre. The characters are different as regard profession but the same sense of humour in most actually robs the narrative of reliefs. The characters seem only to differ in their sense of responsibility and intellect. Most of the individuals show the same degree of refined schooling. Also there is an aggressive use of historical accounts whenever a scope presents itself. Sharing of facts no doubt enriches knowledge but irrelevant sharing mars the actual reading. Let’s see what the other volumes have in store!