Un-Solved Mystery

A book that does not take itself too seriously and gets most things about India right…

The Paradise Trail, Duncan Campbell, Headline Review, p.448, price not stated.

A sticker on the cover proclaimed “If you liked Shantaram you will love this!” I did not much care for Shantaram, but found The Paradise Trail by Duncan Campbell quite enjoyable. Fo r one, the book did not have the mixture of incredulous awe and condescending attitude that most western writers affect while setting their works in India. For another, Campbell seems a bit confused as to whether he should cubby-hole his book in any one particular genre. The narrative keeps on changing from being a study of human relationships to a murder mystery to a tribute to the era of flower children. In the hands of any other writer, this may sound like a perfect recipe for disaster, but somehow Campbell’s ability to meander from one character to another and one style to another becomes the book’s singular strength. Although this is his first novel, Campbell has written other non fiction books and that may explain his disdain for plot points.

Plenty of action

A lot of things happen in the book. It starts with a bunch of Western tourists in Calcutta on a shoe string budget in the early 1970s when India and Pakistan are at war. They stay in one of those seedy, rundown guesthouses situated in narrow lanes that mushroom off Chowringee and spend most of their time in activities like rolling a joint, getting their ears cleaned, composing songs and jingles about Hepatitis and sleeping with each other. They are soon joined by other, more focused, Westerners staying in the opulent Oberoi Grand to cover the war. Their paths cross followed by some more drinking, doping and love making. Overseeing this orgy of indulgence is the Indian landlord of the guest house who is an alumni of the London School of Economics but who spends his time playing cricket with his guests or spying on their possessions when they are not in their rooms. Two of the visitors are bumped off and everyone including the Police believes the murders are the handiwork of a serial killer but no one seems to be unduly perturbed. Even the victims appear to leave the world with beatific smiles on their face. The war of liberation of Bangladesh ends with the Indian victory but that does not seem to matter much in the scheme of things.

There are many books that place their protagonists in a journey that spans many decades but it’s difficult to think of any other that does it with such commendable ease. In a matter of a couple of chapters and a few pages we learn that the several characters have successfully negotiated more than 30 years of their lives. The Hippy has turned into the ultimate success story thanks to his juvenile lyrics, the woman passionately desired by at least three men in her youth is now in a committed relationship with another woman, the snob in a safari suit is an old bitter loser and the Indian landlord has migrated again. As far as the serial killer is concerned, the mystery is left for the reader to unravel. Suffice to say the denouement is quite Bollywood.

Nothing contrived

The Paradise Trail is not for students of serious literature nor would the book enjoy a pride of place in a mystery lover’s shelf. However, the refreshing thing about the book is that it does not take itself very seriously. There is nothing forced or contrived about the characters or the situations. They seamlessly float from one event to another and the reader goes along, a tad amused at the wealth of well researched anecdotes from the era that tumbles out. Like how the polite American audience applauded Ravi Shankar and his musicians when they were tuning their instruments for an inordinately long time because the harsh lights set up at the concert in New York to raise funds for the Bangladeshi refugees had affected them. They mistook the preparation to be a new raga that the master had devised. Another thing that the book has going for it are the pithy dialogues that sparkle with wit and humour. The writer gets most things right about India and that is rare for someone from the West.

The Paradise Trail is the sort of a companion you look forward to in a long flight.