Chak Chak chak chak….the sound of the chopper was deafening as it came closer to the glass window of that hotel room on nineteenth floor. She could see the pilot grinning mischievously.
When a plot starts on that note, you can be sure of an interesting storyline ahead. Dangle by renowned author, Sutapa Basu, is an intriguing tale that makes you sit up straight at many junctures and also keeps you glued to the book throughout. Having teased the reader’s adrenaline in the first few pages itself, she makes sure that it is racing all through those 200-odd pages.
Ipshita, is a smart and independent free-lance travel chat show host who journeys across the world to capture exciting content for audience. However, her small world at home consists of her doting parents and a childhood buddy Adi, who switches many roles as Ipshita’s friend, mentor and caretaker as and when required. Superficially Ipshita’s life looks perfect but she has some demons from the past to deal with. And these demons follow her no matter where she goes. An odd turn of events takes her to her sister Mallika and her huband Vikram, Viki-da, in Manipur after a long time. And she happens to witness the gore of conflict and beauty of the state at the same time. The innocence of local people marred by the continuous state of psedo-war between militants and army moves Ipshita and Adi. Her meaningful trip to Manipur is followed by another work trip to Batam, an insignificant little island off Singapore mainland. And this is where a revolting discovery shatters Ipshita. She has to face those demons now before they do any more harm to her.
The story seamlessly moves forward from one event to the other. After just a few pages, Ipshita looks like somebody you might have known for years. Just like any other urban career-oriented confident young lass, she is adventurous yet responsible and wants to carve a space for herself. Adi is somebody you would really like to take home to your parents. I particularly liked how the author has considerately described the tumultuous life in the Manipur. As we go through the breaking news of encounters in the region, we often tend to forget that there are common people like us who want to lead a normal life that we so easily take for granted. We are quick to pass judgments on how the armed forces should deal with the crisis from our plush living rooms but do not realize that decisions in a battlefield are not based on emotions.
The cover page is sleek and neat and has the title dangling. Not much is disclosed by the title and cover page except the fact the life leaves you dangling quite often. Dangle by all means is something to keep you hooked on a weekend.
My rating:
About the Author: An author, poet and publishing consultant, Sutapa Basu also dabbles in art, trains trainers and is a compulsive bookworm. She is an irrepressible story teller. Her poetry is an evocation of Nature resonating with mystical introspection. A thirty-year old professional career as teacher, editor, and publisher has seen her traipsing across the vast Indian subcontinent with short detours into nearby Nepal and Bhutan and not-so-nearby Dubai and the United States while working with Oxford University Press, India and Encyclopædia, Britannica, South Asia until she decided to strike out on her own. Sutapa is an Honours scholar from Tagore’s Visva-Bharti University, Santiniketan and holds a teaching as well as a masters degree in English Literature. As a publisher, Sutapa has developed and published around 400 books. Recently, her short story was awarded the First Prize in the Times of India’s nation-wide Write India Contest. She has co-authored Crossed & Knotted, India’s First Composite Novel and Defiant Dreams, Tales of Everyday Divas. Kaafiyana, a poetry anthology and Muse India carries her poetry. Her poetry and short stories have been published online by Readomania, India and Café Dissensus, USA. She has edited Crossed & Knotted, India’s First Composite Novel, Chronicles of Urban Nomads and Rudraksha published by Readomania. Her work is showcased on her website storyfuntastika.com and Readomania.com.(Source: Dangle- ebook)
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