Father-son Writing Duo Traces the Intricacy of Kanpur's Communal Violence Following Babri Masjid Demolition

  

Father-son Writing Duo Traces the Intricacy of Kanpur's Communal Violence Following Babri Masjid Demolition

Book Review by Dhiraj Sindhi

Murder in the Bylanes: Life and Death in Divided City by Aloke Lal and Maanas Lal

Murder in the Bylanes by Aloke Lal and Maanas Lal

Authors: Aloke Lal and Maanas Lal

ISBN: 978-9354352393

Genre: Non-Fiction, True Accounts, Professional Memoir

Length: 182 Pages

Publication Date: 10 February 2022

Publisher: Bloomsbury India

Cover Designer: Haitenlo Semy | Featured in Verve

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/3blR5r4

About the author:

Aloke Lal is a former Indian Police Service officer whose exploits have won him accolades from many quarters, including two medals awarded by the President of India: one for 'Long and Meritorious Services' and the other for 'Distinguished Services'. In his long and industrious career, he helmed challenging assignments in the crime-infested belts of Kanpur, Lucknow, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit and Moradabad, and rose to the top rank of Director-General of Police. He is the bestselling author of The Barabanki Narcos: Busting India's Most Notorious Drug Cartel. 

Aloke Lal

Maanas Lal is a prolific writer with hundreds of published articles to his credit. His writings range from fiction and social satire to changing trends in national politics. He is also an award-winning artist whose exhibitions of photography, painting and digital art have made waves across the art world. His repertoire as an artist includes numerous book covers and illustrations, and his soft skills and art workshops are a regular feature in India's leading schools and professional institutions.

Maanas Lal

Instagram: @maanas_lal  @alokeblal

Twitter: @maanas_lal  @alokelal

Disclaimer: This is not a review, it is only intended for initiating discussions. The opinions and views presented in this article are my own and do not reflect anything about the book's author. 

"I finished reading this book two weeks ago. And I'm starting to forget the details. There's so much going on around me; too distracted to pen down a proper review. So, I'm trying to make amends for this delay with this short review."  

REVIEW

I can definitely say that these 176 pages couldn't be more relatable, considering what our country's been witnessing more often these days—communal riots to be precise. This book draws attention to the crucial role of the police force, and how Aloke Lal made a huge difference as the DIG of Kanpur Range during 1993-1994 following the Babri masjid demolition. He flipped aside the prevalent biased notions and lived up to the title conferred on him with his uninfluenced approach. 

From the origination of the Ganga in the Hindu scriptures to the most recent (2019) verdict on the murder case, Murder in the Bylanes brings to your desk all the information that a reader needs to comprehend the turn of events, backed by first-hand experience and account by Aloke Lal, insights into political, cultural, geographical, economical, industrial, demographical, social factors, facts, reports, and studies pertaining Kanpur's history. 

More often than not, such instances of violence (riots) are orchestrated.  The pages of this book intellectually and optimistically trace the intricacy of these conflicts surfacing from a clandestine backdrop by investigating many angles of the murder case while also containing the aftermath of the triggering event where political parties, local gangs, and the influential figures gather to put up a show—a complete mockery of the electoral system, pushing their agendas against each other, the collision creating ripples of rigid cognition in the populace; the result? A sea of difference that cannot be swum. 

To tackle this, the writing duo of the father and son remarks and I agree—political leadership must be "capable of an unbiased appreciation of situations", which will pave a path for the police force and local administration that can make unprejudiced decisions and take actions independent of "vested interests like political parties". We may have been conditioned to believe that it's impossible, but upright and sincere IPS officers like Aloke Lal are the living examples who have made this possible and we should be thankful to the authors for reminding us—in a very particular context as the blurb suggests, 'the violent killing of a local politician and slumlord, Kala Bachcha, a study in contradiction'—that we must learn from the history, or else, this cycle will never end. To have deeper insight and detailed remarks on this subject, pick up 'Murder in the Bylanes'.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review: You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas | Debut | Crime-Thriller | Chhanv Foundation & Project WHY

Book Review

You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas

You Beneath Your Skin by Damyanti Biswas

Author: Damyanti Biswas

ISBN: 978-9386797629

Genre: Crime, Thriller & Mystery 

Length: 390 Pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster India (17 September 2019)

My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/2p227df

About the author: 

Damyanti Biswas lives in Singapore, and works with Delhi's underprivileged children as part of Project Why, a charity that promotes education and social enhancement in underprivileged communities. Her short stories have been published in magazines in the US, UK, and Asia, and she helps edit the Forge Literary Magazine. You can find her on her blog and twitter.

Damyanti Biswas

Follow her on Instagram: @damyantig
Twitter Handle: @damyantig
Visit Damyanti's Blog: https://www.damyantiwrites.com/

REVIEW

Narration

You Beneath Your Skin is a crime-thriller novel that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The book is a conglomeration of profound characters and an enthralling plot. The story is narrated in the third person omniscient point of view. The writing style is just perfect for this tremendously progressive plot, literally, it won’t leave you once you start reading this book till the end. There is not a single moment that had not made a progress, also expositions are perspicuous yet intense.

Theme

Like an exceptional work, You Beneath Your Skin has a lot going on at the same time. There are so many characters, all are deep-rooted and powerful, and on top of that, they all have terrifically transformative arcs throughout the book. It isn’t like a common crime thriller where you will find a murder or two or a scam, this book is filled with a lot more. For example, author Damyanti Biswas has addressed autism, acid attacks and their impact, the huge gap between privileged and underprivileged communities especially children, politics, and how police are being crushed between politicians and their duty towards citizens. The novel is set in Delhi and the author has extracted every bit of it and has added it into the book; the police department, medical institutions, and all other organizations written are well-researched.

Characters: 

Also, this book contains a complicated web of relations. So there is a pair of siblings, Maya and Jatin. Maya lives in Safdarjung Enclave with Anjali Morgan–her Bhai’s friend from Florida who parted from her husband, now lives with her son Nikhil, who has ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). Jatin Bhatt is Police Commissioner and is married to Drishti with a handsome and charming son Varun. However, Jatin’s family life is falling apart because of his affair with Dr. Anjali and the married couple not paying attention to their son who is not at all who he appears to be, according to Maya. Jatin’s father-in-law is Commissioner D.M. Mehra. Varun is friends with Vishal, son of Union Home Secretary Dayal Sisodia, Jatin’s college classmate. Kusum is Jatin’s Assistant Sub – Inspector. Pawan is Maya’s assistant at their Vigil and he has some family relations with Drishti. These characters play a significant part in the tremendous plot.

Acid Attacks: 

You Beneath Your Skin. Exactly. What would you feel when you will be robbed of your face, your identity? That intense burning pain of skin meltdown and the pain that comes with numerous surgeries. There is always a danger of losing one’s eyes in such attacks. What would that feel to not have your eyes just because of someone’s feculent mind? What if you were left with one eye to see your disfigured face and worse, seeing people rejecting you (from jobs and institutes) because of that transformation? I would feel tired enough to kill myself not having the motive to continue. But if you have your dear ones around throughout the process and have a single motto for living your life or for any person then it becomes your strength. Also, not everyone would have those chances, not every survivor would have parents by their side because these survivors are not from a certain range of ages, they’ve been as young as 10 and there are 45 years old also. In those situations, rehabilitation centers for acid attack survivors are of much support and strength, their initiatives create opportunities for fighters. They’ll come to see, they are not alone in this fight.

On that note, the proceeds to the author from this book will go to the non-profits, Chhanv Foundation and Project WHY.

Let me just mention other issues addressed in the book.

Autism: It is difficult to deal with a child having ASD but this book have a great message for the people dealing with autistic and not only that, You Beneath Your Skin shows all the difficulties that come with Autism.

This book also shows the lifestyle of underprivileged people and what is the value of their lives. And with that, how privileged people take advantage of them to quench their thirst for wicked pleasures. The book is wrapped with a white cloak of politics which people often pull on to conceal their foul deeds for the sake of reputation.

I will now wrap up this review with these lines. I highly highly recommend this book to everyone out there reading this. Not just because of the topics addressed in this book, but also because this is an incredible work of writing.

Happy Reading!

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Book Review: The Curse of Anuganga by Harini Srinivasan

Book Review

The Curse of Anuganga by Harini Srinivasan

The Curse of Anuganga by Harini Srinivasan

Author: Harini Srinivasan

ISBN: 978-8193642498

Genre: Historical Fiction (Mystery)

Length: 280 Pages

Publisher: TreeShade Books (28 April 2019)

My Ratings: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/2KzF00u

About the author:

An aficionado of literature, history and dance, Harini Srinivasan has found innovative ways of bringing her passions to her work. Among her achievements is her contribution as an editor of several prestigious publications published by the Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, such as Selected Speeches of the President: Pranab Mukherjee; The Republican Ethic: Selected Speeches of Shri Ram Nath Kovind; Indian Dance – Through a Critic’s Eye; Abode Under the Dome; Legends of Indian Silver Screen; and Selected Speeches of the Vice President: M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Harini Srinivasan

She also has to her credit a children’s book “The Wizard Tales - Adventures of Bun-Bun” (now into its second print) and a blog on classic Hindi films and books. Along the way, she undertook different roles (Civil Servant, Project Manager, Communications Professional and Editor) across countries (India, Germany and the Netherlands). A doting mother of a 10 year old son, Harini Srinivasan lives with her family in Gurgaon.

Check her blog: www.bagsbooksandmore.wordpress.com

Follow her on Instagram: @hsriniv12

Twitter Handle: @HSriniv12
Visit her Website: http://harinisrinivasan.com/

REVIEW

Narration

The Curse of Anuganga is a Historical Fiction based on the history of Vakataka dynasty capital, which is Nandivardhana. Driving the inspiration from the history of ancient India, the author Harini Srinivasan has tried to put her views and story which could have caused the mysterious events that took place at the end of the 4^th century. The story is narrated in the third-person point of view which follows the main character Shaunaka. The author has tried her best to portray Ancient India with the wealth of rich culture of architecture, developed imperial government, language and literature. She has used many Sanskrit words throughout the book quite often which affected the efficiency of writing style. The writing style and the structure is very good and the story is consistent and average paced throughout the book.

Location and Setting

The story takes place in 403 CE when the Rani Prabhavatigupta (390 CE – 410 CE) was the regent Queen, ruling over the kingdom Nandivardhana on behalf of her two young sons. Harini Srinivasan has successfully portrayed the image of this kingdom and how it worked, it is just perfect and is a remarkable point about The Curse of Anuganga. There are different quarters in the kingdom of Nandivardhana and the story mainly revolves around Buddhist Quarter, Administrative Quarter, Jewellers’ Quarter and the market of the city. The book also described the infrastructure of various constructions which added value to the magnificent period of Indian history.

Theme

The Curse of Anuganga follows a murder mystery and the constant threat to the kingdom from an unknown source throughout the course. The main character Shaunaka is the son of a well-known goldsmith, Vishnuveera. The prologue and the opening took me by surprise and my expectation got higher, but nothing sort of happened until towards the end. After studying the theories about Kalidasa, author went along with the theory that associates Kalidasa to the court of King Chandragupta II. So, there is this great element to read about, which is Mahakavi and his invaluable creations and accomplishments.

Plot

Shaunaka is given the charge to work on the bride’s jewellry at the corner house in Buddhist Quarters. Unfortunate Shaunaka and his brother Ashwini find themselves in front of the Vinayashura’s dead body. Vinayashura, the owner of that corner house who was rumored to have deep connections with the royal family, was mysterious enough to Shaunaka and now after the murder, he is intrigued to know more about the mystery at hand. Because of their logic and keen observation skills, Shaunaka and Ashwini have land duty of assisting the head of police to solve this murder. Also another event, the royal wedding of the prince is facing the obstacles and both mysteries are causing a threat to the security of Nandivardhana.

My Views

The use of Sanskrit might have compromised the capacity of the narration but it was very essential to the story and it was fun to learn bits of Sanskrit this way. I loved many characters and the list includes Devi Tanirika (wife of Vinayashura and mother of bride─ Tarika), Pitamahi Ahalyabai (Grandmother of Shaunaka and Ashwini), Bharavi and Yakshvatsa. I expected more from the character of Mahakavi Kalidasa. The story was not much intriguing as it was just moving straight forward without any major events in between. Thus, the climax was burdened with all the mysteries. While the language, setting and the representation of mysterious events in the ancient history of India were expertly carried out.

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