Author Tabish Khair hopes to rid the West of at least one simplified narrative about non-Western cultures in The Thing About Thugs, in which he deconstructs the 'popular' image of the Kali-worshipping, murderous bandits of ancient India
Author Tabish Khair hopes to rid the West of at least one simplified narrative about "non-Western cultures" in The Thing About Thugs, in which he deconstructs the 'popular' image of the Kali-worshipping, murderous bandits of ancient India
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| The Thing About Thugs; Tabish Khair; Rs 450, Harper Collins, India. Available at leading bookstores. |
"Any story worth retelling is a true story," says Indian-born, Denmark-based author Tabish Khair, who recently launched his book, The Thing About Thugs.
"I tell the story of an Indian, supposed to be a thug, who gets embroiled in a series of vicious murders in London in the years 1837 to 1839," shares Tabish in an email interview. Thugs were members of an ancient Indian cult known as Thuggee, referred to as "murderous bandits" and "fanatical Kali-worshippers" by the British.
"Colonial accounts of the Thugee are what attracted me to the subject. Thugee and sati are the stereotypical tropes within which the 'image' of India was often constructed by colonisers in the past," explains the author.
"I used Thuggee as a 'stock' narrative, which I take apart as the novel moves from crime to crime, and in the process reveals a much more complex, layered, and exciting reality," says Tabish.
The book has intertwining plots, and is primarily set in Victorian London. "My novels always have parallel plots, though the plots finally cohere in various ways. I find linear plots boring, and even misleading. Misleading, because they seem to reduce the complexity and vibrancy of life in most (but not all) cases."u00a0
Tabish, who spent two years researching the book, says that there comes a point when the author must go beyond the research. "I like to play with 'reality' and 'fiction' in my novels," he says, cautioning the reader not to confuse the narrator with the author.
"With immigration-related xenophobia increasing in the West and the problem of Islamist terrorism, we are again seeing the rise of stereotypes and simplified narratives about non-Western cultures, internationally," says Tabish, when asked to comment on the relevance of his novel.
The 44 year-old, who has worked as a journalist in New Delhi and currently teaches at Aarhus University in Denmark, considers writing his true calling.
"I suspect I am unfit for any other career. Though I have also washed dishes, delivered newspapers and painted houses in Copenhagen. I guess I might have liked making a film or directing a play," he says.
Tabish's next novel will be based in his hometown, Gaya, a small, but historically significant town in Bihar. "I have long thought of doing a novel based in a place like that. I am also finishing a book on literary criticism with French writer and critic Sebastian Doubinsky," he signs off.
WHO WERE THE ROADSIDE STRANGLERS OF INDIA?Thugee is derived from the Sanskrit word 'thag', meaning thief. Thugs would typically travel in pairs or groups in the guise of traders, pilgrims and soldiers, before looting and murdering travelers. They were trained to murder from an early age, and their inclusion into the cult was hereditary. Their weapon of choice was a cloth noose, referred to as the rumal, which they would swiftly tighten around the neck of their victims. The practice of the Thuggee is likely to have dated as far back as the 13th century, and to have continued at least till the end of the 19th century. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom saw Bollywood actor Amrish Puri play a Thuggee priest, who engaged in rituals involving human sacrifice. The 1984 Hollywood film, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford, was based on the premise that Thuggee cults existed, albeit covertly, into the early part of the 20th century.
