Apr 07, 2015 12:07 PM
9076 Views
(Updated Apr 09, 2015 04:47 AM)
When I look back and count the number of books I have read, and try to establish a pattern, I find that I have read almost ZERO fiction and mostly real life experiences, adventures, history or self-help books. The main reason being my prejudice against fiction; anything that is not real is rejected by me if it is in literary form and accepted only if it were in the form of a movie or a TV series. This changed when I read “Qatl Ki Aadat” a few weeks ago.
Qatl ki Aadat is a delightful crime novel written by Sh Jitendra Mathur and it is based out of a small Indian town in Northern India. To reveal any part of the plot in this review would be gross injustice to the author and his wonderful literary work however for the sake of my readers and to have some substance, I am required to reveal some part of it.
The story starts with a very fast paced opening chapter where a murder of a man named Babu takes place with clinical perfection on a road between two small cities Shyamgargh and Ram Nagar. The murderer is a master of disguise and the victim is a man of ill repute. From the very outset it is clear that the murder has a very deep connotation and the man responsible is a very shrewd man who is cunning and diabolical. However the purpose of the murder is not known.
The investigation case is handled by a very young, very fresh and very keen police officer Sanjay Sinha. Sanjay is new to the place and also newly recruited police officer, he has the enthusiasm however lacks the experience and as his new city is also the victim of an underground ring of drug traffickers, so his problems are very convoluted as he finds it difficult to know whom to trust except for a handful of friends like the wise Mr Ghanshyam and a few co-workers. This part is written very well by the author keeping many possibilities in mind. Sanjay however grows more mature as the story progresses and shows some very high level of astuteness towards the end.
Being a murder mystery, it is never going to be interesting if the story were to stick to solving only one murder case, so there is a lot of action in the middle. I quite liked the beginning of the story – it was as I would say a “Thriller start”. If this story were to be made into a movie, then the start is the part that would come before the titles/credits begin. The story then slows down to introduce the characters. The author has made sure that there is good balance, too little characters and the story would be droning and too many characters and the story would be confusing. Here, there are just enough characters to keep the story fresh and interesting.
After the introduction of the characters, just when I though the story was slowing down, the author shifts gears very quickly and the story picks up pace like a metro train and it is relentless. Many people get killed and there are clues pointing all around. The suspects themselves fear for their lives as even they don’t know who is responsible and what the motive is. Many questions crop up – whether the murders were done by one person or many, how are they connected, who could be the next target. This is a good attribute of a narrative, to keep the reader glued to the book is not an easy task and the author has managed to achieve it. Also, the way the investigation happens at a police station is described with vivid detail by the author, everything from collecting evidence to the working of the fingerprint expert to calling press conferences is spelled out very carefully.
The Hindi used by the author is very easy to understand, the story sometimes seems more like a script as there is a good description of the setup and surroundings. I think this story would do maximum justice in Hindi as it resembles the Bollywood suspense thrillers of the 60s and 70s in more ways than one. I will say that it is a wonderful story, interesting, charming and addictive. It has simple language and easy grammar. There is a wonderful description of a small Indian town where most of the inhabitants know each other, their day to day activities involving people at both ends of the food chain. The secret history of some of the characters is very important and it is something the author uses to draw out motives, camaraderie and revenge.
I recommend this book wholeheartedly, it is the sort of book one would read while on a train journey but it is equally nice to read at work – the way I did. PS: If you were wondering that the name of the Author sounds familiar, then you're right, its our own Jitendra Mathur, who has a huge fan base in MS. I wish Sh Mathur success as a novelist and hope he writes more novels in this genre.
