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Heart-rending lore

Last Updated 24 August 2013, 13:08 IST

Reading Chetan Raj Shrestha’s The King’s Harvest, it is hard to believe it’s this architect-author’s debut novel. A compilation of two novellas — An Open-And-Shut Case and The King’s Harvest — this book is at once engaging and captivating.

Set in the beautiful Himalayan state of Sikkim, both the novelettes relate touching tales of innocent people whose simplicity leaves us dumbfounded. Though both the stories are very unique and bear no resemblance to each other, the setting of the stories — Sikkim — and the thread of naivete that runs through the two stories binds them together, lending them a charm that can only be termed sui generis. 

The first story of the book, An Open-And-Shut Case, revolves around young Kamala, who murders her abusive husband, Constable Puran, on New Year’s Eve, cuts him up into 47 pieces, and surrenders herself to the police along with her daughters. At first glance, this seems like an open and shut case. But, gritty policewoman Dechen scratches the surface, only to find layers and layers of evidences that prompt her to believe that there’s more to this murder than meets the eye. So begins the long and arduous investigation that sheds new light on Kamala’s motives behind the murder — that her marriage to Puran wasn’t her first; that Puran was not the father of her two daughters; that Puran had a weakness for the fairer sex; that Puran derived pleasure from beating up his women, so on and so forth.

Progressing in this vein, the story also takes us into the life of Dechen, who is struggling with ghosts of her own past. This is not all. The story also has a recurring theme in the form of a Nepali song, Resham Firiri, the haunting melody, which has a foreigner, Straun, hooked. The author’s efforts to interweave these various elements with the main plot of the novella deserves to be commended. Will Kamala be prosecuted for the murder of her husband? If yes, what will be the fate of her daughters? Or, will the law be kind enough to show mercy on Kamala with her daughters’ future in view? Well, this forms the crux of the riveting story.

If a few pages into the opening story of the novel are just enough to sample Chetan’s style of narration, then The King’s Harvest, the second novella that lends its name to the book, needs no introduction as far as the narrative is concerned. Centred on Tontem, a simpleton whose clan came from the mountains, the story only goes to prove that innocence can sometimes prove costly. Yes, Tontem, the one who draws unwanted attention because of his ears — “...he had been born with two flaps of cartilage that drooped like winter leaves over pea-sized holes” — and his mysterious birth that “had been a fatherless affair”, gets sent to a monastery to “atone for his past sins”. With absolutely no aptitude for learning, the tall and strong Tontem lands in a windowless hut at the edge of the estate to guard the entry to the monastery. This new assignment proves to be lucky for him as he gets noticed by none other than Chogyal, the king of Sikkim, “the latest in a three-hundred-and-thirty-year lineage, and husband to three queens...”, who chooses him to be a member of his royal guard.

Thus begins a new chapter in Tontem’s life, as he accompanies the royal entourage on a survey of the Chogyal’s 50-hill kingdom. When they reach a valley named Lhaizalzed, the king gets melancholic and relates its history, according to which the land there can get productive only when it is farmed by an incomplete man. Now, who can be more incomplete than Tontem, the one with flaps for ears? So, Tontem volunteers to stay back and turn the barren valley into a productive one, as it also provides him with the perfect excuse to shield himself from the world that always makes fun of his ears. The arrangement is that Tontem gives a tenth from his year’s harvest to the king. For 28-long years, the king’s share is reached to him promptly through Kaila Sardar, when we also see Tontem’s family expanding. Surprisingly, for three years in a row, Kaila Sardar fails to show up, and the king’s share begins to rot, prompting Tontem to go meet the king. But, the outside world is not the same as Tontem had left behind over three decades ago. A shocked Tontem struggles to accept the new reality...

In both the stories, Chetan’s gift for drawing vivid portraits of his characters, especially that of Kamala, Dechen and Tontem, stand out so much so that their strength of character lingers in our minds long after we have closed the book. Also, the author’s poetic narrative deftly explores the many shades of emotions a person experiences, making it difficult for readers to judge even the greyest of characters. In short, The King’s Harvest is a testament to the author’s assurance as a good writer.
THe King’s harvestChetan Raj ShresthaAleph2013, pp 150350

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(Published 24 August 2013, 13:08 IST)

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