A BOOK REVIEW

Disclaimer: This piece is a dedication to DAN BROWN. For all Dan Brown fans, this article is not meant to ridicule his style of writing. I am myself an avid Dan Brown follower. This article was written for the sake of being written.

TITLE: daRAMANUJAN CODE

AUTHOR: DAN BROWN

GENRE: HISTORICAL/MYTHOLOGICAL THRILLER

Dan Brown is at it again with his evergreen hero, Rabindra Lakhia. The book was released last weekend, amidst growing speculations regarding its 'read-me-not' content. It has already led the VHP to carry out demonstrations outside the publishing house charging them with ridiculing Hinduism by publishing material detrimental to the 'pavitra' image of 'Sita Maiya'. The book has been banned in UP and rumours are thick that a coalition partner has threatened the central government of withdrawing support if the ban is not made country wide. Is Dan Brown rewriting the Ramayana?

The story begins with a pair of British mathematicians, claiming to have solved the so-called final problem of legendary Indian mathematician Ramanujan. But the day before they were supposed to make a formal announcement both of them are found murdered. The Scotland Yard is perplexed because nothing seems to have been out of place at the murder site. Even the most likely source of motive, ‘The Mock theta conjecture (MTC)’ seems to be intact on the mathematician’s computers. Their only clue is a piece of mysterious matrimonial ad (probably cut from some Indian newspaper) of some Paras Goyal that was found in the wallet of one of the dead. Investigations reveal the nonexistence of any Paras Goyal or even any newspaper having the same font as that of the ad. The case is closed on account of lack of evidence and the MTC manual and the mysterious ad is made public. Only then it comes to prominence that MTC may not be just what it seems. The mathematicians had encrypted it using some advanced cryptographic software and mathematicians were now having a tough time deciphering it.

Enters the scene, Rabindra Lakhia a mathematician by profession, specializing in cryptography (and the lead guitarist of a lock rock band and a former 'Gladrags’ Mr.India and what not...) who using a certain anagrammed version of the matrimonial ad as a key decrypts the MTC. To his astonishment he finds that MTC concealed a great and at the same time a devastating mythological secret and it might have been the reason of the mathematicians’ death. He reveals his findings on March 14(Pi lovers day) that MTC was not any mathematical theorem but actually the encoded documents of the enigmatic secret society 'Akhand Satya Rakhshak' which was created to conceal a great and at the same time a devastating mythological secret. He then adds on that this organization was headed by the likes of Samrat Asoka, Maharana Pratap, Tansen, Mangal Pandey and Subhash Chandra Bose. The secret would have been forever lost with the sudden disappearance of Bose, had it not been for our hero and his ground-breaking discovery. Just as he was about to wrap up his declamation three people clad in saffron attire fire at Rabindra. Thanks to some stringent security measures Rabindra escapes unhurt. The attackers are arrested and on interrogation are found to be belonging to the VHP. With this startling incident the story shifts scene to India as Rabindra sets to unearth the complete truth. There he is joined by Sufia Alam, the sexy and buxom assistant director of ASI. They find that Tansen, a former head of the enigmatic organization had in his Miyaan Malhar Rag (which he sang to invoke rain) had hidden clues pointing to a great fallacy in Ramayana. They immediately head to Ayodhya for further investigation. In Ayodhya their investigation receives a major jolt when they are attacked by a group of Kashmiri militants. Unfazed, they move ahead and are amazed (as it is by now the hypnotized reader) to find that the Babri Masjid was erected over the Ayodhya shrine to cover up the same mythological secrets that they are looking for.

In at attempt to tie the remaining knots they manage to convince Prabhakaran to let them spend a week in the LTTE occupied region and carry out investigations in the Palk Strait to validate their assumptions. Their investigations also get a go ahead from the Indian Government although at the ‘top Secret’ level as the government is itself aware of the devastating consequences that this expedition might result in. In order to camouflage the investigations conducted over the southern coast the Navy puts out a declaration that extensive security measures (using sea animals and beacons) were being taken up.

In the climax, set in the LTTE occupied region of SriLanka the explosive secret is exposed which could shake the very foundations of Hinduism (and to a fair degree has already succeeded in this regard). Our heroes find that 'Sita Maiya' was actually defiled in her exile at Lanka and that Luv and Kush are actually Ravana's sons. Hanuman came to possess this bitter truth when he spied upon the hideous act from atop a banana tree in Ashok Vaatika (at this point one is made to wonder by the skilled workmanship of this brilliant author, as to how old this tradition of voyeurism is). Hanuman had then established this secret society to pass on the secret to the 'Kalyug' where it was supposed to be revealed by Vishnu's last incarnation, just before he destroys the whole world. Though the book is a rank one page turner, at times you get feel that there are too many loose ends Mr. Brown forgot to tie. The book is replete with historical and mythological inaccuracies and it seems that Dan Brown is more interested in creating fire than letting the candle glow (though we must admit that the fire is by far warmer).

With the book achieving such fame, Ram Gopal Verma has announced his mega 160 crore budget movie (for which major funding is supposed to come in from the Middle East) by the same name. Sources reveal that Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza will be making her onscreen debut as Sufia Alam opposite John Abraham. With the book being an instant best seller there is little doubt about where the taste of the public lies and the critiques predict that innovative and sensational novels like Dan Brown's latest offering are bound to rule the market.