Author: Paulami DuttaGupta
ISBN-13: 978-8192893730
Binding:
Paperback
Publisher: Fablery publications
Number of pages: 127
Genre: Fiction
Language: English
Price: Rs.150
(Got a review copy from the author)
About
the book
About the Book:
Trapped in the limbo between ideology and conscience, Manbha finds
himself part of a terror outfit. An unexpected opportunity, anger,
squalor and disillusionment - followed by armed combat and injury lead
to the soul-searching that form the substance of this moving tale.
About
the Author
Born in Shillong, many moons ago, with schooling at Loreto Convent, and
an English Honors from St Edmunds College, Paulami started her career
with 'All India Radio Shillong'. She wrote and also gave her voice to a
few shows there. Later, she came down to Kolkata and got a post graduate
degree in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University. She had
also taken a fancy to learning Spanish, but today confesses that she has
forgotten most of it.
In the past, she has written for 'The Times of India' in the 'Guwahati-
Shillong Plus' edition and also 'The Shillong Times'. Television had
always attracted her and was connected to the Bangla TV industry for
about 6 years. She was associated with ETV- Bangla, Akash Bangla and
Sony Aath in this period.
Having left her day job in 2012, Paulami took up full time writing. Her
first novel 'Pinjar' released in early 2012. She has also contributed to
'Minds@work' anthology and 'Family Matters' international anthology in
2013. Her second novel 'Unplanned Destiny' released in 2014. She is also
the screenplay writer of the National Award winning Khasi film - Ri
Homeland of Uncertainty.
When she is not writing or watching movies, Paulami is either reading
biographies or classic pieces of literature. Cricket, food, cinema,
books and music are an integral part of her life.
Gaurav says
Ri, a Khasi word for ‘homeland’ takes
us to a journey of the heartlands of Meghalaya, Shillong and the
India-Bangladesh borders. Along with the varied geographical locations, this
book takes you inside the minds of freedom fighters and law keepers. Political
scenario, just after thirty years of independence, was much more intense and
gory than it is today. Terrorists were gunning down innocents, who sided with
the law. The police were nabbing down extremists through fake encounters. Between
these two debacles, the northeastern states become unwitting victims. The
civilians are torn between ideologies. They are resenting of the
‘local-outsider’ rift. On the other hand, the media glorifies the continuous
failures of the administration to contain terrorism. What’s interesting is the
drawn parallels between the thought process of the central freedom fighter,
Manbha and the SP of Police, Kyndiah. Both want to fight for their beliefs. The
former knows in his heart that freedom is the only solution to the excesses of
the military. The latter knows that eradicating terrorizing patriots like
Manbha, can truly bring peace.
The novel starts in July at Shillong
with Kyndiah, weary of a pesky journalist trying to get a scoop out of him. As
he steps out from his car to enter the Secretariat’s Office, journalists hound
him for information on a fake encounter. The novel quickly moves on to an
infiltration of India-Bangladesh border and from then on, to the terrorist
camp. Here we read about fellow liberators Steve, George and Kyrmen who plans
to exhibit ‘real fireworks’ on the upcoming Independence Day celebration.
As the plot thickens, we get to learn
about the inner conflicts of Kyndiah. He is conflicted between his work and
family. He has distanced himself from his relatives while he considers his
junior comrades as his own blood. He is troubled by his job. A good night’s
sleep is luxury for him. A social life is a blessing. His inner sanctum of
peace and calmness is completely shattered. He is under pressure by his seniors
to bring atrocities under check. He despises the media and yet he harbors a
strong opinion about Janet, a revered journalist.
Kyndiah’s dilemmas are perfectly
brought in sync with that of Manbha. He is in his 20s who left his home in
search of a higher truth-freedom! What interested me is that he is equally
disillusioned about his fight. Just like Kyndiah, he takes orders of shooting
and bombing from his seniors. He is not sure whether his revolutionary
ideologies have lost their meaning. At first sight, he is resolute, composed
and ruthless. However, on further inspection, he is soft towards his comrades’
inhumanness, meted out to his own Khasi people. He has lofty dreams of bringing
independence to Meghalaya. However, he doubts his own aspirations when
confronted with reasonable arguments by one of his hostages, Emika. The
ultimate showdown between the police and the terrorists is something to look
for in the book.
In true sense, Ri is indeed a
homeland of uncertainty. Every gunshot, bombing and encounter reeks of
corruption and military barbarousness. It evokes among the Khasis, one of
Shakespeare’s famous quote, ‘to be, or not to be’. It means, they want to break
away from the Indian union but not sure whether they’ll survive on their own.
The book is a solid page-turner. Paulami
DuttaGupta recites the incidents as if they are unfolding right before your
eyes. Never would you find a dull moment in the narrative. It will keep you
hooked on to the finale, until you reach the last line and realize the bigger
picture at play.
