A cat-alogue
Reviewed by Parbina Rashid


The Wildlings 
by Nilanjana Roy.
Illustrations by Prabha Mallya. Aleph. 
Pages 31. Rs 595

Social networking through whiskers, having out-of-body experiences, following an unwritten code of conduct and indulging in blood sports — who could have imagined that the world of the street cats is as exciting and as hi-tech as ours? Not many for sure. Like nobody could have imagined that the whiskers of a cat could inspire a novel!

Most people notice a cat only when they see it crossing their path. For, it means bad luck and without sparing much thought for the creature, they would involuntarily stop the car or retract a few steps to ward off the evil. Small wonder that cats too perceive human beings as clumsy, insensitive species and look at us with disdain. This hypothesis is reaffirmed by Nilanjana Roy in her debut novel The Wildings.

However, the story is not about how other species scorn or fear the Bigfeet, Roy’s terminology for human beings, or how despite being at the top of the eco-chain, Bigfeet can learn a lesson or two from them when it comes to ethics and moral values.

The story is about this gutsy gang of cats that inhabit the alleys and ruins of the Nizamuddin area in Delhi, who love their freedom as much as their fights for survival. From the moment Beraal, the ferocious queen of the clan, sets out to kill the sender Mara, a kitten with a special networking power, one’s curiosity is aroused.

And as for me, a born cat lover, I feel a new-found respect for their whiskers, which I, as a child, used to trim down so ruthlessly as part of my pets’ grooming regime. Taking Mara’s superior "sending" power as base, Roy with her expertise on cats’ behaviour, which only a cat lover can decipher, meanders through the lives of graceful Beraal, wise Siamese Miao, clan hero Katar, naughty Southpaw, innocent fur ball Mara and the deranged feral Datura and his cronies to weave a plot which is no less than a thriller.

It has its funny moments, suspense, drama and savage violence as it touches the complexities of social set-up and bares the ironies of life, resulting in a narrative which is gripping from the beginning till the end. Even though her "good-versus-bad" storyline comes with a somewhat a predictable ending.

Having said that I must say by allowing her imagination to run wild, Roy has achieved much more than a reader’s undivided attention for her debut novel. For, next time a cat crosses one’s path, it won’t be regarded as just a carrier of bad luck, but an intelligent being with far more superior communicative power!

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