Book Review: Rakht Banddhan by Dipnanda Bhaduri

“Rakht Banddhan” by Dipnanda Bhaduri is an eclectic mix of thriller, horror, and supernatural novel. It is set in beautiful tea estate place Coorg in South India. However, its timeline and the mettle of characters stretcher across boundaries. One of the finest aspects of a horror thriller could be its perfect backdrop that exudes vibes of ghostly activities and eerie ambience. Coorg is that one backdrop and because of that the novel seems rooted in Indianism but also exudes a gothic reverberation.

At the heart of the story is the protagonist, Bhargavi – a poor displaced young woman. Her personal story of struggle doesn’t take the main course narrative, yet through sweeps and memories we get to know about the gap between her aspirations and current misery. Through a contact of a doctor, she takes up house maid job in a riche estate in Coorg where she confronts with other auxiliary characters of the novel like Kumar and Mamtha and Swami Ji. She has to report to Ashwini Amma, the senior lady in the house. However things look queer in the mansion where Bhargavi's main job is to provide support and care to Rishav, a four-year-old boy of Kumar.

Consistently since the opening passages, the novel dives towards encountering ghostly appearances of women in different forms and Bhargavi makes note of it. But she isn’t afraid, rather gets hunched that something sinister is at play. Bhargavi does not lose control but make sure that the boy Rishav is protected from the evil forces at any cost. In the process of hide and seek amidst the dark forcers a gamut of characters appear and disappear but they all keep moving the plot.

As the story chugs ahead it comes out a woman once part of the family is troubling and threatening people of manor. Can Bhargavi save herself and the boy? The story is layered, changing its colour from time to time exposing a lot about the people and their hidden secrets living in the manor. The novel is perfectly placed with its characters and unnerving setting. The author did not lose the plotline anywhere, she kept it interesting with short chapters, and one by one major revelations get highlighted. Reading the novel slowly at night could be an experience of its own kind. Though the second novel of Dipnanda, she delivered it like a veteran of horror genre.

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