Dec 17, 2007 06:30 PM
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(Updated Dec 17, 2007 10:22 PM)
Like the deads in ‘FIREPROOF’, I do solemnly affirm that I have tried my best to be impartial while writing this review and have tried not to allow my personal prejudices creep in to my writings. The Blue Bedspread was my first encounter with Raj Kamal Jha's writings which is a story of misfortunes, dysfunctional family and destiny going wrong . What I disliked about the book was its theme . But the writing was superlative, and with the ease Jha played with words and sentences left me spellbound. He continued with his form in his next book too.
When I heard about his third novel which was based on Gujarat Riots, I was eager to lay my hand on the book. At times, however, I wondered what kind of story he had written because whatever had happened in Gujarat, had been repeated in media ad nauseam .In the meantime I had to make an official visit to Ahmedabad, the city which witnessed one of worst communal riots in post independence India which was the theme of Jha's novel. As I came out of Ahmedabad station, I found an auto-driver with scull cap and beard smiling at me. I decided to hire him. I bargained for fare before getting in to his Auto-rickshaw.
I started talking about the chief minister, famous for his interpretation of Newton’s 3rd Law. The driver was hesitant and praised the CM and when I told him my name, he opened up. He told me many horror stories. I looked outside and found two big posters with the smiling CM staring at me. It frightened me. Near my place of stay I discovered an outlet of famous bookshop chain and was surprised to find ‘FIREPROOF’ displayed prominently. My own preconceived notions suggested that the book must have been banned in Gujarat and owning such a book in Ahmedabad would be a crime. But when I came to the counter to pay for the book nobody raised an eyebrow on my selection of the book. I started reading the book. Chapters after chapters I was being consumed by the stories .
That evening I skipped my dinner. And till I fell asleep, the book was almost half done. Next day I hired an auto visited the places where as per media reports the people were burnt alive or hacked to death. I could vividly see the images of people screaming for help. I was back to the place of my stay reading the rest of stories.
The story is of a man whose wife has given birth to a limbless boy . And he has got a mysterious massage from some Miss Glass who claims that she can set things right for him by making his son a normal boy. His son is named Ithim. The night the man has to go to Miss Glass for the treatment of Ithim is a fateful night. The city is burning. Anyway, he has to go.
That night I had a strange nightmare, I saw the roads of Ahmedabad was inundated with blood and Ithim was swimming in it and also screaming for help.
I woke up with start sweating profusely and found the book lying by my side.
I finished the book that night.
The narrative style adopted by the author is novel. Specially, short monologues of the deads between the chapters work as an accelerator in narrative .Worth reading.
