A gritty capture of the unseen

This book wipes the mirror clean to show us the ugly picture of human trafficking.

One of the thrills, or to say the ‘ecstasy’ of being a journalist, is to set out on uncharted and dangerous paths to tell stories that matter and this was one thread of thinking that strikes a connection and paints the picture of this novel’s lead Tejaswini, a spirited journalist brought up in New York.

The book, whose story evolves in the landscape of war-torn Iraq following the US-led invasion in the early years of the millennium, is a translated version of Kunal Babu’s Bengali novel ‘Tejaswni O Shabnam’.

A book needs to enchant its reader to the extent that they follow the emotional trail of its protagonists. ‘The Endgame’ does this well through Shabnam, a dancing girl of the desert, to reveal the layers of a complex character like Tejaswini, who, fascinated by Shabnam’s origin, tries to undo the twirls of fate she is subjected to.

In this journey of self-discovery, the narrative of the transformative power of camaraderie, friendship and a deep sense of fulfilling one’s purpose plays an enormous part in making the book a riveting adventure. It wipes the mirror clean to remind us of the ugly picture of human trafficking that dogs our world.

Kunal informed that the character of Shabnam emerged for him when he met 14 young girls rescued from the clutches of trafficking. Talking about the meeting, in which he broke down, he said that when he asked a young girl, where was she taken? “Araba desa,” was the answer.
“She didn’t even know the name of the country. A little girl is taken from Bengal and trafficked out to the Middle East. Imagine how helpless she would be...” What is more daunting is the fact that there might be a Shabnam in some part of the globe at this moment, reeling under the dark clouds of trafficking.

We see the clarity in Tejaswini’s thoughts, her actions are what we expect of a heroine, but Shabnam is elusive, like her name and destiny. At one moment, it’s cold, beautiful and the grit of survival awe-inspiring, and the next, it all disappears to appear again.

One should commend the detailing of things like food and even the symbols that have been used to indicate the end of a section in the chapters. The book cover presents the flavours within the book in a cohesive picture that encapsulates the essence of the protagonists.

What begins as a story documenting the travails of a journalist covering war and the thrill of being on the frontline, ends leaving the reader hit by a volley of questions aimed at our bridled sights that are blind to injustices, which gnaw at the souls of innocents.