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Line by line, the narrative gains momentum, and so does the heartbeat, as author Mahendra Jakhar's novel The Butcher Of Benares reaches its climax after meandering through the blood-splattered lanes of Banaras. A la Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, Jakhar weaves a mystery wrapped in an enigma, which leaves the reader gasping for breath as the plot surges ahead. On a trip to Banaras with his cynical father Fauja Singh, Hawa Singh — popular in his circles as the “Ghost” whose constant companion is the “smell of death” — comes to the rescue of the local police, which is hunting down a serial killer out on a “murdering foreigners” spree. The story complicates with each murder, even as the killer leaves clues — in form of the Holy Cross or astrological symbols — behind for his opponents. The holy city on the banks of the river Ganges becomes a virtual playground for the “Ghost” and the “Butcher”. In between are the Naga Sadhus, human flesh-eating Aghoris, tantriks, sadhus, behrupiyas; references to the Vatican, connections to the age-old Hindu text Bhrigu-Samhita, coded locks, ancient “nerve-freezing” martial art Marma Adi, coal mafia, human-body-part-collecting royal scions — Kashi Naresh Maharaj Abhay Narayan Singh, Suryadev Singh, Prashant Singh, Manvendra Singh — and betel-chewing, samosa-munching, pot-bellied cops. Amid all this, Fauja Singh provides the much-needed comic relief. Not to miss, the glamour aspect is injected through FBI agent Ruby Malik; “half-Pakistani, half-American”, 5-feet-11inches tall sassy lass, who is more than once an “abla naari”, rather than a quintessential gun-wielding, karate-chopping lady associated with the agency. But then there is the “Die Hard” Hawa Singh, who is always there to bail her out. Jakhar surprises with his ability to hold attention and create mental images. His imagination is more than ripe, to the extent that he can visualise a tunnel beneath the Ganges that connects the two banks! There is no reason why a Bollywood thriller can't be churned out of this one.
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Albeit the “filmi” touch is marked, the author having written a few scripts for B-Town, the story is gripping. The lead protagonist Hawa Singh — a cop with a bullet lodged inside his head after a deadly encounter with his fiancé's abductors — is a veritable Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and Superman rolled into a single body. 