Treading lightly on messy magic

Set in an imaginary land, this is a story of honour, tenacity and longing.

When a veteran writer and a blockbuster filmmaker come together to write a book, one would expect their combined brainchild to be nothing short of spectacular. Madhulika Liddle and Kannan Iyer have spectacularly delivered on this presupposition with their novel The Pledge: Adventures to Sada.

This novel is the first of a two-part series called the Mandala Purana. Set in an imaginary land named Mandala, once a united and peaceful country, but now divided into the warring South and North Mandala, this fantasy adventure follows a young law officer named Raibhu, his childhood friend, Afhash, and a cloak-and-dagger village girl named Inosa as they set out to fulfil the dying wish of Raibhu’s father, Jaadum. As the trio journey through the heart of South Mandala’s wilderness to immerse Jaadum’s and his wife Asi’s ashes in the river Sada, they find themselves being hunted by a vicious and dreaded warlord, Umur Naash. Layer by layer the reasons behind Jaadum’s dying request, the signs in the peculiar map he has left behind, and the motives of the ruthless party chasing the three are revealed through a vividly detailed adventure with a shocking end.

Friends on a mission

If the history of Mandala and its secrets are the heart of the novel, then its protagonists — Raibhu, Afhash and Inosa — are its soul. Each of them is nothing like the other and the authors have created a chaotic and messy, but beautiful magic with their coming together that is relatable and endearing. Raibhu is a strong, silent soldier. He is quick on his feet, sharp in his mind, and loyal to his core. Always calculating and analysing, when emotions run wild, he is the glue that holds the trio together. Afhash is impulsive, goofy, and generally all over the place. He is embarrassed about his lack of education but yearns to be like his two friends whom he dearly loves. In a moment awash with feelings, he says, “I was thinking that there could be no greater treasure than what I already have, you know. Friends, people who care about me. That’s enough treasure for me…” His character lends a fervent sentimentality to the dynamic of the trio and adds balance to the seriousness of the other two. Inosa is strong-willed and spirited. Easily transitioning from a village girl to a philosopher, she is a determined woman who knows what to do and will do it whatever the cost, as is clear when she says, “I believe that if I choose to do something, I should do it well. I should put all my energies into it and do my very best because that helps fulfil my own life.”

The kinship between Raibhu, Afhash and Inosa makes the book more than just a fantasy story. Often, I felt like I was reading a book about friends on a mission out to find the truth about one of their parents’ deaths until the more magical elements were brought into focus. I would say that the novel is in many ways an ode to love in its many forms — unquestionable love between a father and his son, sacrificial love between a man and his wife, tender love between a boy and his adoptive parents, unhinged love that comes from infatuation, platonic love that exists among friends, wishful love that is born out of a crush, and jingoistic love for a charismatic leader. The authors have, in a few hundred pages, managed to capture love in all these forms through relationships that form amongst the main characters and flashbacks to the past. The central theme of love and friendship and the emotional honesty that the authors have given their characters make this book a poignant read.

Madhulika Liddle and Kannan Iyer have created a world that is light-hearted yet wicked, uncomplicated yet arcane. They have skilfully captured the subtleties of friendship and the moments that can turn friendship into either hatred or love. Rich in culture, human emotion, personal longing, and magical intrigue, The Pledge is an incredible story of love, honour, and tenacity that makes for a compelling start to the Mandala Purana books.