Böcker av Shovon Chowdhury

A brave new voice on India's literary scene.' - Indian ExpressA teacher lies dead in a small village near Calcutta. Since the Chinese took over, things in the Bengal Protectorate have been sliding from bad to worse. It looks like the work of the New Thug Society, whose members are determined to free Bengal from Chinese oppression.Under Governor Wen, who is confused and slightly weepy, the law and order situation continues to deteriorate. Resurrected members of the Bengal politburo stalk the land, demoralizing all those who thought they were dead. The Maoists are still in the jungle, and remain strangely reluctant to re-integrate with the Motherland. Meanwhile, Didu has escaped, the price of fish is rising, and the Competent Authority, undisputed ruler of India, is trying to start a war with China Unimpressed by the rising threat of war, which is none of his business, Inspector Li of Lal Bazaar doggedly pursues his prey. Why is Propagandist Wang so keen that he investigate something else? What are mining magnate Sanjeev Verma and his partner Agarwal up to, and how is Governor Wen involved? Will Inspector Li be able to interview his suspects before General Zhou shoots them all? And why does his ex-wife keep calling, even though her new boyfriend is rich enough to have a duplicate Eiffel Tower in his garden?Outrageously funny and wickedly imaginative, Murder with Bengali Characteristics marks the return of one of our finest comic writers.

A couple of decades from now, India is not shining-the Chinese have nuked large parts of the country. Bombay has been obliterated, Delhi is in the throes of rigorous reconstruction, Bengal has seceded and is now a protectorate of China, the Maoists have taken over much of what remains. The southern states are a distant and tranquil place that nobody has visited in years. The most powerful person in the country is a deranged bureaucrat called the Competent Authority, who has used his official position as the head of the Bureau of Reconstruction, to subvert all forces of governmental authority. Cloaked in anonymity, his identity known only to his terrified minions, the CA rules the remnants of India with an iron fist.Although, in theory, the government and the armed forces still exist, the Prime Minister, who looks very familiar and the General, who commands the Army, are mere puppets in the hands of the Competent Authority. All they can do is watch in horror as he tries to put in motion a fiendish plan to annihilate everyone in the country, for reasons that are completely logical. The only person who can stop him is Pintoo, a mutant twelve-year-old from Shanti Nagar, where all the poor people live. Determined to thwart the CA's plan and save the country from disaster, Pintoo employs three reluctant henchmen to help him: Pande, a corrupt and vicious policeman, Chatterjee, a pessimistic but determined CBI officer and Ali, the last surviving member of Al Qaeda. And then there's also the matter of the hand that has a mind of its own