“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”
One is reminded of these words by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn as one peruses through the pages of ‘Shakti-A novel’ by Mrinal Chatterjee. The short novel is a tapestry of concepts, good and evil; honesty and corruption; upright and conceited, woven through several smaller narratives. The premise of the novel is not uni-dimensional, in fact it is quite the opposite. Absolute power of authority, depravity and greed as opposed to rebellion, rectitude and generosity builds the premise of the story which was originally written in Odia.
Set in a kingdom ruled by a corrupt and power-hungry king with his retinue of equally corrupt ministers, the novel could easily be reimagined in a modern-day setting. There is the Nidhiram Patnaik, the “irascible, foul-tongued” bureaucrat and the “personal secretary” to the king who always “held the ace of trumps”.
There’s also Priyanath Pati, the “slimy, unctuous and servile, completely untrustworthy, forever double-talking” private secretary. These characters are easily identifiable in modern day India and also serve to be perfect foils to the protagonist.
The protagonist, Dr Biplab Roy, is a brilliant, dedicated and honest scientist who also is an honest do-gooder. He discovers a machine that traps sound to convert it to energy. The author, in his foreword, says that being an erstwhile journalist, he once went to Himachal Pradesh and was impressed by the gharat or a water mill which was used extensively in areas that had flowing streams. The force of the flowing water was converted to energy. The concepts of energy, power and its physical and socio-political effects stuck to the author’s subconscious and thus, the novel was born.
The protagonist, hailing from a humble background and mortified by the death of his mother, burns with a desire to invent something that would benefit the poor. His latest invention fulfils his dream and a thrilled Roy wants to use his invention for the good of the common man. His desire is to use his invention for the betterment of the underprivileged and development of his country. But King Vikram Singh, the despicable, shrewd and autocratic monarch and his equally vile step-brother and minister, Lalsaheb Duhshaasan Singh, have other, more sinister, plans.
What follows is a series of events at the behest of the King which results in the arrest of the scientist. Unable to endure the monarch’s cruel and despotic ways, the citizens rise in rebellion.
The novel is replete with interesting characters and humorous sub plots which successfully hides the greater scheme of things. Dr. Roy’s excitement over his invention, the hardships he had to face while trying to meet the King and his expressions of love towards his own invention injects dashes of humour in the narrative, making for an interesting read. The narrative is multi-layered dealing with political, scientific and lofty concepts of good and evil at the same time.
The title of the novel is kept short but pregnant with meanings. Shakti, in Hindu mythology, refers to the powers of Nature. The triumph of Shakti against asuras is symbolic of triumph of Nature over evil forces. Shakti, in Indian languages, also means energy. This beautiful wordplay makes for a worthy title to the novel.
The narrative of the novel is kept tight and fast-paced infused with witty one-liners and humourous anecdotes. The author makes sure that the readers do not lose interest and that the novel remains a page-turner.
Originally written in Odia, the novel was translated to English by Nadeem Khan, an educationist who is currently the Regional Director of the West Indian Campus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication in Maharashtra. Khan manages to accomplish the herculean task of balancing the language and retain the true flavour of the narration with the nuances intact which makes the novel an engrossing read.
The only hiccup remains the oft-shoddy editing of the book which might mar the readers’ experience. Other than that, the book manages to inspire and entertain in equal measure.
SHREYA SARKAR,OP
