THE SLOW TRAIN TO RISHIKESH
by Sharan Kumar Arunachalam and Gary Paul Corcoran
As The Slow Train To Rishikesh opens, Hiresh, an investigator for the Central Bureau of Investigation in India, travels by train through New Delhi to Rishikesh, a small village in the foothills of the Himalayas, “…where ancient temples dotted the Ganges and waters fresh from the snow-covered mountains churned milky-white on their way to the distant sea.” He is beginning an eagerly anticipated two week vacation to the ashram where his grandfather lives.
Hiresh seems to be “…a thoroughly detached individual, unconcerned about the fate of the world and the suffering of his fellow human beings.” In fact, his formerly passionate concern for the state of the world has become disgust at the political corruption, industrial filth, overpopulation and environmental catastrophe of his native India, compounded by the secular escapism of its people. His detachment is a carapace created by the tension of these opposites, a carapace which will be profoundly tested in the turmoil of his next investigation, when he must fight the industrial filth and political corruption of India in the setting of the purity and innocence of his youth.
Initially alone, Hiresh attracts a wide variety of characters who share his journey. His negative reaction to each becomes resignation as circumstances force them upon him. The unique characters in this book, both good and evil, are excellently well drawn and pull the reader deeper into the conflict. Aside from Hiresh and his friends, it is not clear where on the spectrum of morality the various characters stand. The suspense builds steadily on plot twists to the emotional crescendo and resolution on the last page of the book. Loose threads are gracefully tied up in a brief Epilog, which also glimpses a hitherto impossible future path for Hiresh.
This book is an immensely satisfying read. Its graphic unfolding of corruption is set against vivid descriptions of the Ganges as it brings the reader through the glorious beauty of temples in the Himalayan foothills, the desolation and despair of cities and villages, and all stages in between. I strongly recommend The Slow Train To Rishikesh as a book not to be missed.
Hiresh seems to be “…a thoroughly detached individual, unconcerned about the fate of the world and the suffering of his fellow human beings.” In fact, his formerly passionate concern for the state of the world has become disgust at the political corruption, industrial filth, overpopulation and environmental catastrophe of his native India, compounded by the secular escapism of its people. His detachment is a carapace created by the tension of these opposites, a carapace which will be profoundly tested in the turmoil of his next investigation, when he must fight the industrial filth and political corruption of India in the setting of the purity and innocence of his youth.
Initially alone, Hiresh attracts a wide variety of characters who share his journey. His negative reaction to each becomes resignation as circumstances force them upon him. The unique characters in this book, both good and evil, are excellently well drawn and pull the reader deeper into the conflict. Aside from Hiresh and his friends, it is not clear where on the spectrum of morality the various characters stand. The suspense builds steadily on plot twists to the emotional crescendo and resolution on the last page of the book. Loose threads are gracefully tied up in a brief Epilog, which also glimpses a hitherto impossible future path for Hiresh.
This book is an immensely satisfying read. Its graphic unfolding of corruption is set against vivid descriptions of the Ganges as it brings the reader through the glorious beauty of temples in the Himalayan foothills, the desolation and despair of cities and villages, and all stages in between. I strongly recommend The Slow Train To Rishikesh as a book not to be missed.
c Chris McDonough 2013
Published on Amazon December 8, 2013
Published on Amazon December 8, 2013