Tales in between the lines

Roopinder Singh

Prime Minister Birendra Pratap Singh is assassinated at the Ramlila Ground, in New Delhi, a favourite stomping ground for politicians and a nightmare for those sworn to protect them, the Special Protection Group  (SPG), and other allied agencies down the pecking order.

Even before he is declared dead by doctors at AIIMS, there is speculation on various TV news shows, where ambitious anchors clash. One of the anchors, Manisha Patel, is reporting from AIIMS, while Gaurav Agnihotri from a rival channel, spouts fantastic conspiracy theories sitting in studios — to fill in the information gap that is naturally created as official agencies clamp up. News waits for no one, and in the absence of real stories, made-up ones will do as the two rivals fight out for TRPs.

As the world at Race Course Road complex unravels for the first family of Indian politics, the senior-most minister tries to take over, only to be pipped to the post by the eldest son of the late Prime Minister. Sounds familiar? It is, as the author uses dollops of facts to weave a racy narrative in this political thriller. Like a good creative writer, she weaves a distinctive tapestry from these historical threads, and the creation leaves many guessing about which character fits best with which known person. 

There is gudia  but Asha Devi is certainly not gungi. She is recalled suddenly from a luxurious exile in London, earned by her propensity to get into potentially embarrassing situations, awkward for her father, who, ironically, she dotes on, seeking his attention and approval ardently. Her mother, the PM’s widow, is also his second wife. Both women are resented by his two sons from the first wife.

The story that Goswami weaves is one of passion, lust for power, and the perils of exercising it without restraint. Then, there is the law of unintended consequences. How was the Defence Minster to know that in the rise of his protégé he would also sow the seeds of his own destruction? 

A reporter, Goswami knows Lutyens' Delhi well and has covered politics extensively. This makes the tale she tells quite credible. The mechanism of deal-making, the interplay among business interests, politicians, bureaucracy and the intelligence agencies, all make for a compelling reading. 

Then there is a defence deal that goes bad — the French find evidence of bribery and trace it back to the highest echelons of the Indian establishment. Please keep in mind that this is a work of fiction and any resemblance with actual events is entirely coincidental!

The author is strongest when dealing with women characters, especially the prodigal daughter, Asha. Her transformation and translocation underpin the story. The only man who truly loved her is dead, her attempts at forging relationships have left her devastated. And now she is rudderless in a world that is markedly hostile to her. How she negotiates it, where she draws strength from and how she confronts the feudal and patriarchal mindset of her family and those around it makes the reader bat for her. 

Radhika Singh, anchor Gaurav’s wife, is also presented as a woman with a mind of her own, superficially his social antithesis, but one that completes him and whose counsel he seeks. Politicians’ wives get an enhanced role. The main opposition leader, too, relies on his lawyer wife mightily. Manisha Patel, the anchor competing with Gaurav Agnihotri, is a person with a soul, and this pays dividends later. 

Goswami’s male characters don’t fare well. Prime Minister Birendra Pratap Singh knows Asha’s worth, but reserves the political gaddi for his son Karan, while his second son Arjun is a bohemian with fluid sexuality. The defence minister, as a confidant-turned-villain, holds our attention a little longer than others but blaming ambition alone for his transformation does not quite cut it.

Political literature it is not but page-turner it is, so you really don’t have much time to notice these details, as you are busy following the story. Here Goswami scores. There have been other political thrillers, the Raisina series comes to mind, and this genre is growing. More power to such endeavours.