A novel based on Jean Dreze’s life in a UP village and crime writer Vadhan’s ‘Fear of God’

Rumble in a Village

Anil Singh, a banker working in London, egged on by his India-loving girlfriend Pat, decides to visit a North Indian village and take charge of property (a small house and some farmland) left to him by an uncle. On the way to the village, he discovers that his uncle was murdered and that the police have arrested his uncle’s domestic help but no one believes that she could be the killer.

As the murder mystery unravels, the banker discovers the many complexities of village life, politics, caste, jealousy, corruption. bureaucratic nightmares. Poverty, gender disparity, power struggles and the turmoil of a village divided.

The entertaining book is peppered with colourful characters. There is the seemingly innocent Babu; the village headman, Rampal; Kishan Lal, who teaches Anil about farming and Captain, an army man who drops mysterious hints about the murder and much else; Ashok Kumar. the lawyer, a dedicated teacher and the obnoxious police superintendent with whom Indian readers can relate.

The novel is based on economist Jean Dreze’s observations as a young researcher in a real-life village way back in 1984. LUC LERUTH has published short stories and several novels, including La Machine Magique (Callimard, 2004), a story set in Jaipur during the time of the construction of the Jantar Mantar. He is a mathematician (trained in astronomy) and has a PhD in economics. He studied at the Indian Statistical Institute (New Delhi) in the 1980s and is currently teaching at the University of Essex. He has travelled all over the world and lived in India, Fiji. the US, Gabon, Ghana and the Philippines.

Fear of God

Crime writer Vadhan’s “Fear of God” which reflects corrupt practices in the public domain, is being adapted for the big screen.“An average Indian takes pride in flouting the law; which is what enables wheeler-dealers to manipulate people and the legal system. So, I started looking at a what-if scenario: Abide by the law to be protected by it; break the law and be answerable to it; but if you think you are above the law, then there is only ‘Fear of God’.

Born and brought up in Chennai, Vadhan is a lawyer by profession and informs that this is his third book and is published by Tree Shade Books. A vigilante decides to bring corruption down by killing corrupt people holding public office. High profile murders throw the law enforcement machinery into a tizzy and CBI’s Special Crimes Division is brought in.

When the killer announces his next target to be a lawyer with a clean record, CBI decides to use him as bait to catch the vigilante.

Within two months of the launch of the book in Mumbai in February, it was picked up for a full-length Hindi movie. A public announcement is expected shortly.