Of savagery, relationships and drug addiction

Short takes

By

Randeep Wadehra

I am an executioner by Rajesh Parameswaran

Bloomsbury/Penguin. Pages: 260. Price: Rs. 499/-

The title story of this collection of strange and savage love tales is set in a fictional country where the protagonist works as executioner in a jail. It explores the mindscape of a petty government servant who is trying to eke a living out of a rather odious job even as he yearns for a normal family life. His struggle to win over the affections of his wife gives the story tragic-comic twists.

It is a proven fact that love instinct is not restricted to any particular specie. However, inter-specie love is something that has not been documented but must exist if we go by occasional snatches of news in the media – like a tigress developing a protective instinct for a bovine calf. In The Infamous Bengal Ming, a tiger falls in love with its zoo keeper and kills him in a fit of anger caused by perceived betrayal, and then kills a baby it wanted to protect.

The Strange Career of Dr. Raju Gopalarajan shows how unrealistic ambition drives a person to quackery with tragic results. Four Rajeshes is an amusing tale of a railway station manager during the Raj days. However, it is Demons that really is most readable. While interrogating certain inherent pretenses in relationships, it tellingly depicts Savitri Veeraghavan’s conflicting emotions on her husband’s death. The party scene and another where she cooks lunch – pretending that nothing untoward had happened – even as her husband’s body lies in the living room, are impactful.

These “love stories” are different and the narratives are certainly original and interesting – if you like to read longish stories with shades of the bizarre.

Drug addiction by Dr. (Col.) Rajinder Singh

The Kalgidhar Trust. Pages: 208. Price: Rs. 150/-

The twin menace of alcoholism and drug addiction has been eating away at the vitals of our society for decades now. Since youths fall easy prey to such addictions the problem has become a threat to the society’s very future. Results of a survey published in this book reveal that 80% of Punjab’s male population indulges in drug abuse while 7% comprises chronic alcoholics although 65% consumes alcohol for various reasons. Opium, bhang, charas etc are among the most commonly abused substances in Punjab.

Apart from providing statistics, various chapters in this volume look at assorted aspects of drug addiction and alcoholism – including the causes and sources of supply of such substances – and endeavor to suggest viable methods for fighting the menace. The research done is both extensive and intensive. There are many articles – both in English and Punjabi – included in this volume that should be of interest to law enforcers, rehabilitation experts and researchers, apart from the general public.

Ten days by Azharuddin

General Press. Pages: 174. Price: Rs. 125/-

The canvas for chic lit has gone international. In this novel we have Zeeshan Akhtar from a middleclass family who falls in love with Ria, who is “perfect” in her looks and tomboyish in her “mannerisms”. After the usual pangs of studying and romancing in India Zeeshan goes off to Australia for further studies, only to get caught in the typhoon of racist violence. The narrative provides graphic details of how badly Indian students are treated there and how they are struggling to get justice by resorting to protest marches, among other things. During one such march violence breaks out and Zeeshan is injured. During his ten day stay in the hospital a local journalist named Amanda takes more than mere professional interest in him. Nonetheless, the story ends with our hero returning back to his family and love.

The novel is readable but I really wish the editors had given due thought to the plot’s structure and its slackness.

Published in The Tribune dated July 1, 2012