#BookReview :: Rage in the Jungle, Raj on the Street by Doctor Kesi

Rage in the Jungle, Raj on the Street, is a story that captures the essence of a group of people caught in a strange predicament. Political activist Neema unwittingly puts her family - a widowed mother, old husband, a little daughter in jeopardy, while pursuing Buddha, the encounter specialist, for his false encounters. Buddha, with his dogmatic belief in an extreme definition of patriotism, was tempted to stage false encounters on a terrorist couple. Chased by his pursuers, he finds himself in an awkward place, which he must have not dreamed of in the wildest of his dreams. Sambhu, an absconded bonded labor-turned Maoist was in Neemas company, knowing precious little of how fast his criminal past would catch up with him. Or that he would again meet the same terrorist-cum arms peddler from whom he had purchased the AK47s, in exchange for hashish, cultivated to fund Maoist activities. 



The first thing that catches your eye is the cover - a figure of Buddha with blood and bullet holes on the side. They are so contradictory that the cover immediately intrigues you enough to pick it up. Buddha is the ultimate figure of peace… what can be the connection between him and blood and bullets?

A Political Activist, a Maoist and an encounter specialist come together to give this novel its form. Neema, the political activist, unwittingly puts her family into danger. Buddha, an encounter specialist and a self proclaimed patriot, is tempted to do a false encounter involving a terrorist couple. And Sambhu’s criminal past is fast catching up with him. Now all that covered in a plot couldn’t possibly be boring and it isn’t.

The characters are well fleshed out and we see different sides of each of them at different stages, making it colourful. He plot itself is nothing short of an international thriller. Thankfully though, the author has kept both the plot and its characters very Indian. Some authors try to make a novel more interesting by giving it international shades, not Doctor Kesi though. He has kept everything simple, well as much as the plot would allow, and the situations and characters truly Indian which actually makes it more interesting for a reader like me. The narration style and the language of the author are simply flawless. The only thing I did not like as much is the title which is appropriate but not as interesting as rest of the package.

 Overall this book made for an awesome page turner.