Book Extract : The Killings In November: A Play on Toxic Terror’ By Rajesh Talwar

A best-selling author and writer of 37 books and legal advisor to the UN (Human Rights), Rajesh Talwar whose The Judiciary on Trial was reviewed by Khushwant Singh and used as the lead story in his column ‘With Malice Towards One and All,’ where he praised it fulsomely and recommended that ‘it deserved to be widely read’ is back with a new crime thriller ‘The Killings In November: A Play on Toxic Terror’.

The plot of the play is compelling and engaging. Two of the world’s greatest detectives Col Ranjeet and Herlock Holms are called upon to solve the mystery behind the killings that take place each year in November in India’s capital, New Delhi. There are many twists and turns in the plot all leading up to a shattering climax.

The issues raised in the play concern everyone living in urban areas in India but are also global issues.

Excerpt  : SCENE  4

The scene is set inside a bungalow somewhere in Lutyens Delhi, the most prestigious residential area in the capital. A balding, bespectacled Supreme Court justice and his grey-haired wife are seated around a large dining table having breakfast. The furnishings inside are classy, though not opulent. Bookshelves propped up against a wall are full of thick law books. A servant is silently bringing paranthas from the kitchen and serving the couple. On the table, set for four there is there is achar (pickes) and dahi (white yoghurt).

Justice Bhat: Another year from now I’ll be retired.
Mrs Bhat:(ruefully) Yes, we’ll have to leave this wonderful house where we have lived these past four years.
Justice Bhat: At least we’ll be able to get dear Shivani married here in August next year.
Mrs Bhat: And Elena too will finish her Bachelor’s degree at University.
Justice Bhat: Not that it matters in her case. Elena will still be too young to be thinking of marriage.
Mrs Bhat: We have to start planning for her marriage from now onwards.
Justice Bhat: Perhaps. As far as Shivani’s wedding is concerned we can set up a shamiana in the large lawn in front of the house and have the wedding here itself.
Mrs Bhat: Wonderful!
Justice Bhat: We should be able to accommodate two hundred people on the lawns. I believe that should be good enough.
Mrs Bhat: Having the wedding here will mean a saving of a lakh of rupees.
Justice Bhat: More than that, I think. A wedding hall in a five star hotel costs so much these days.
Mrs Bhat: Moreover, you have to book months in advance.
Enter Shivani, their daughter still in her nightclothes
Justice Bhat: Come, beta. Join us for breakfast.
Mrs Bhat: Delicious paranthas stuffed with potatoes.
Shivani: (as she takes her seat at the table) Good morning, Mom! Good morning Dad!
Mrs Bhat: (looks at the wall clock) Aren’t you going to office today? Usually, by this time, you are all dressed and ready to leave.
Shivani: I’ve taken an off. In any case all construction has been halted in the city. Work at my company is at a standstill.
Justice Bhat: (nodding) Yes, the government has issued a directive. (pauses to break a piece from a parantha ) No doubt someone will challenge the decision in court.
Shivani: Senior management in our company is already in touch with our lawyers.
Mrs Bhat: We were talking about your wedding just before you came in.
Shivani: Oh, Mom, it’s still many months away!
Mrs Bhat: But beta, we have to start planning much before, don’t we?
Shivani: What were you talking about? Expenses?
Mrs Bhat: Your father was saying that we can have the wedding in the lawn opposite our bungalow. Much cheaper and better than a five-star wedding.
Justice Bhat: (laughs) No five-star wedding is as prestigious as having a wedding in this part of Delhi in one of these colonial-style bungalows.
Mrs Bhat: That’s so true. (turns to Shivani) You know beta there are so many rich businessmen in Delhi, far richer than your father who just has a modest government income, but they would not be able to afford the rent for one of these private properties in Lutyen’s
Delhi. Forget about buying it.
Justice Bhat: Part of the perks of being a Supreme Court justice. Your mother is right.
Shivani: But there are some private properties here as well.
Mrs Bhat: True, but to to live in one of those you have to be super-rich, not merely rich.
Justice Bhat: Do you know the large bungalow in the lane next to ours?
Shivani: The one with the red Jaguar parked outside?
Justice Bhat: Yes, that one. It was sold off just last week.
Mrs Bhat: (curiously) How much did it go for?
Justice Bhat: A hundred million US dollars.
Mrs Bhat: (mouth open) You’re joking!
Justice Bhat: No, no, that’s the price. It was reported in the newspapers. I think the Dalmias or the Birlas have bought it.
Mrs Bhat: Oh, my God! One hundred million.
Shivani: Mom, real estate in New Delhi is as expensive as real estate in London or even New York.
Justice Bhat: (nods) That’s what I hear.
Mrs Bhat: The amount is so shocking though. (turns to Elena) Tell me, beta,once you move to New York to be with Rohit after the marriage, will you work with a real estate company there as well.
Shivani: Too early to say, Mom, but that would certainly be an option for me to explore.
Justice Bhat:(leans back on his chair, having finished his breakfast) You can buy the most expensive apartment or house here or in New York but there is one thing though that money cannot buy.
Mrs Bhat: And what is that?
Justice Bhat: The thing that is increasingly becoming difficult to find in the world.
Shivani: Love?
Justice Bhat: (laughs) No, love is still there – even in this materialistic age.
Mrs Bhat: What is it then?
Justice Bhat: Peace and security. In cities across the world life is becoming increasingly unsafe.
Shivani: You are speaking of the homicidal monster that is creating so much chaos and mayhem in the city, aren’t you?
Justice Bhat: (nodding; his expression is serious) Yes, I am.
Enter Elena, the younger daughter. A cloth jhola is hoisted on her shoulder.
Mrs Bhat: Come beta, you are late for breakfast.
Elena: Good morning Mom, Dad. Hi, Shivani. No, thanks. I have to rush. There is no time for breakfast.
Mrs Bhat: At least have one parantha.
Elena: No, Ma, I have to rush.
Shivani: Where are you going?
Elena: To DU, where else?
Shivani: But there aren’t any classes at the university these days. You have exams coming up, don’t you? Your prep leave must have started.
Elena: Yes, but the libraries are open and I have to study.
Justice Bhat: Good, beta. I am really proud of my two girls. (puts an arm around each daughter) My elder daughter is a qualified architect, employed in one of the best companies – and my younger daughter is studying law.
Shivani: But why the rush to get to the library?
Elena:First, I have to see a friend who is unwell.
Mrs Bhat: Who is that?
Elena: One of the students in my class is very sick. He lives near the university.
Mrs Bhat: Oh, what happened?
Elena: He got attacked….
Mrs Bhat: Ohh? By whom?
Elena: (after a pause) Who else? The monster himself.
Mrs Bhat: Noooo! Beta, I suggest you stay at home today.
Elena: Mom, I can’t stay at home. That is simply no solution.
There is now palpable tension at the table.
Justice Bhat: (after a pause; to his wife) Let her go. Friends have to look out for each other. And as Elena says, staying at home is no solution.
Elena: Thanks, Dad.
Justice Bhat: (espies some yellow booklets in Elena’s bag) What are those – in Hindi?
Shivani: (laughs) Not a law book for sure.
Justice Bhat: (frowns) No political pamphlets, I hope. You know my position as a judge, my dear.
Elena: No, no. (takes out a copy) It’s actually a copy of the… the Hanuman Chalisa. There are a few copies here.
Justice Bhat: (in astonishment) Really?
Mrs Bhat: (examines one quickly) So it is.
Elena: All right everyone. Bye!

Exit Elena

The book will be released on 7th September 2024 on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies. Prior to publication in paperback, the play has been staged by Delhi University students at the Lok Kalyan Manch in New Delhi.

(Extracted With due permission from author, publisher)