Hrishikesh Joshi
Checkmate
Fiction
Mumbai: Frog Books/Leadstart. 2015
ISBN: 978-93-81836-94-1
Pages 158 | Rs 150 | US$ 6
A bold novella with violence, passion and wildness
When I read the author's background, it made me wonder as to what sort of thriller a 21 year old "reluctant engineering student" could come up with. A few pages into it, I realised that this boy is a good story-teller with a well-hatched plot. He seems to have drawn inspiration from certain true-life events. The story also reflects the cult of terrorism in the present period, under the guise of Islam and holy war, which in reality may not end in an optimistic manner as depicted in this novella, though one would wish it does. Even then an ugly head may cast its shadow to continue the terror, as rightly pointed by Hrishikesh Joshi.
After a fairly tepid introduction of Muhammad Zia Ul Afridi, the most dangerous man on the planet after erstwhile Osama Bin Laden, I quite liked the portrayal of Justice Ramkrishna Shastry. He is a person with high ethical standards and held in high esteem as a Judge, although his character is not flawless. The Judge has a clandestine affair, realises his folly halfway through, is guilt-ridden and then becomes a loyal husband, which is not really relevant to the context of the story, but conjectured to make the character more realistic and suited to present times, perhaps?
This character kick-starts the whole plot. The author has well-thought of minute details including the judge's prosthetics, which is critical, as he is used to circumvent airport security. The story begins with the Judge and his dilemma, why and how he is being blackmailed into hijacking the plane with innocent passengers.
I could not help but notice a sardonic touch by the author of the jihadis or fidayeens – and quote, "They were Allah's favourite sons and would continue the great work and build a world which shall one day say namaaz five times a day and live under the sharia law, no matter how many lives may have been sacrificed."
Hrishikesh Joshi has touched upon real life happenings and fitted them as a backdrop to take the story further. This also serves as a refresher for things we may have forgotten over time.
As the hostage situation intensifies with the usual demand to release the terrorists from our jails, the intervention of the Prime Minister becomes necessary. It is hilarious to read the introduction of this character, "turban-clad Oxford veteran, who given a choice would gladly retire from politics and spend the rest of his life with his family, quietly and contently away from the public eye."
The writer has shown a knack for introducing characters who seem real life like, be it Vikram Roy, the stud agent of RAW, a la Bond style, or his girlfriend Romila or Abhishek, his deputy in command. At the same time, he has attempted some intelligent writing on the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and its functions, the line of demarcation between Intelligence Bureau (IB) and RAW and so on.
There are moments in the novella when your own imagination kicks in as you start to think if the Judge's wife Sudha's voice was recorded or was she still alive and speaking? This amply shows the author's deftness as a story teller.
As the plot thickens the violence increases and so does the raucousness, be it the love making of Vikram and his girlfriend Romila, or the sickening reminiscences of the gangster Asif Khan whilst interrogation or the ruthless torture of the stewardess whereupon the story takes an unexpected twist. The author has described the barbarism and horrors of the underworld vividly.
In a lighter vein, Hrishikesh Joshi does not forget to include lines to the effect that, "they bought condoms along the way."
Soon after the action packed scene, a chapter opens up with a spine chilling dream of Afridi and a passing reference to Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire in the 12th century, "who poured molten silver down the throats and eyes of the Generals of the defeated army."
The author has inserted flashbacks in a manner easy to understand which is extremely important; else it can have the reader confused.
Hrishikesh Joshi's penchant for the Himalayan treks is evident, particularly whilst describing agent Vikram's initial posting in the Himalayas or when Romila narrates her life story.
As the truth unravels, this short book is indeed a page turner that keeps building the pace of the story and captures the reader's interest with a dramatic sequence of unexpected twists and turns till the finish.
I must not reveal anything more about this novella except that it has been a good attempt by Hrishikesh Joshi, a promising writer; a few brush strokes on editing would have served well.
No comments:
Post a Comment