THIS is a compilation of stories set in Delhi, which is considered to be the country’s chaotic capital. In this collection we find 14 stories by writers, young and established, male and female, gay and straight, use the devices of crime fiction and film noir to provide riveting, incisive perspectives on this ever-changing city. It is a book which does not focus on the romance of its bygone era, or its ruins, or its tryst with the Raj, but describes the social reality ranging from depressing dystopian sorrow to happy endings.
Oman Ahmad’s detective story forces readers to come to terms with the fact that the Congress-led government was hand in glove with the massacre of innocent Sikhs in the aftermath of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination.
Radhika Jha writes about a man whose clothes get stolen at night when he is busy preparing a feasibility report.
It s interesting to read about the hard-boiled Delhi Police force which features prominently but unfavourably as caught indulging in illicit sex with neighbourhood aunties and call girls who also work as spies. One gets to know more about the darker side of life in Delhi.
(HarperCollins Publishers India, A-53, Sector 57, Noida – 201301, UP)
