Publishing
Company: Aleph Book Company
Pages: 310
Price: Rs. 595
The Wildings, albeit, has a red-eyed cat on the
cover page, but it makes it captivating to be grabbed to your study room. I
picked it, headed toward the counter while reading the back cover, & then
put it back to the bookstore shelf to turn later anytime as it costs Rs. 595.
But, months later, its apparent applause made me turn my step backward to the
store to not to make any delay to reading this exquisite piece of narration
where you are bound to envisage the characters in real, & try to
contemplate the details of the plot with every page.
When
any narration intrigues you every time to turn the next page, & when its
characters get alive & starts wallowing in your mind even with an imaginary
plot, then it’s worthy of an applause.
The Wildings is a captivating phase of a clan of
cats dwelling in the labyrinthine alleys of Nizamuddin, an old neighbourhood in
Delhi, where they were intimidated by the ferals- despite being one of their
species. Before this sinister episode, life had been a thrill for this band of
cats & other tribes as the parity of existence was the prime principle. No
one used to fear anyone, & anyone could do what they please. Cats & Cheels,
though, are born to kill & eat their prey, but that kill should be just for
the survival & not for the enjoyment.
This clan of cats has their own linking network,
just like Facebook & Twitter, where they may chat with a distant one with
the help of their whiskers. One day this clan of cats got sendings which made
them frightened of an outsider with powerful sendings, a Sender- who could ruin
their lifestyle. Everyone was just alarmed & panicked with the existence of
this Sender, as a Sender takes birth only when there is any perilous signal; but
everything seemed quite safe, then what this Sender was here for? Their panic
made them take a decision which would have erroneous consequences that they
would bear at a dear cost.
What this clan would do with this Sender, & whether
they would get success to shield themselves from ferals? How & who would
help them in this crisis, & who else join them in their battle for
existence? Read & unveil the emotional journey these wildings went through.
I am afraid of dogs, & was never befriended with
any cat or any other wildings. But, this story of wildings, especially cats, will surely make you fall in love with them, & you would get eager to know
the emotions lying behind their faces, whenever they are around you. Nilanjana
Roy, who lives in Delhi with her cats, has made a deep analysis of the gestures
of her housemates.
I have found this book a poignant piece as these
wildings’ different emotional faces & behavior patterns have been put here
where you would find them behaving like you, and yes, would learn something too.
I liked it when Mara got scared with Beraal’s look & remembered her mother
just as we do: “…why are you making that
face? That’s really scary! You’re frightening me! You are a mean old ugly cat,
and you were supposed to be my friend. I want my mother NOW!!!!!” I liked it
where Southpaw pretends to not to afraid to the predators to get away with the
critical situation. I liked the way one fights for another companion, or any
innocent tribe.
The author demonstrated their belief in not
contaminating sacrosanct sites. I loved
the way Mara stammered ahead king of kings: “I’m just me, just a Mara.” And, then made the cub correct it: “Please, call me Mara. That’s my real name.”
Tantara- the langoor- showed off her tail- with which she could do so many
things- to the kitten, just as we do when we have something special in our
kitty. Just like we were taught by our guardians to stay away from the evils,
Southpaw had also been taught: “madness
& evil have their own stench, like rotting flesh, and it’s best to stay
away from the stink.”
Life isn’t about being inside always and exploring
nothing, and no one approves it. So, Southpaw rebuked his friend for the same. Again,
when your own friend calls you a freak, how does it feel? How do you feel when
your own child has been taken away by someone? Miao’s disappearance made the
whole clan frightened & worried, just as we couldn’t bear the pain of our
loved one being away. I liked the Kirri’s revenge: “The right paw was for the mice. The left paw was for the birds.” And,
the way Tooth- the Cheel- nodded with Miao during her last breaths.
Now, didn’t you find them as emotional as like us?
Agreed?
Here, Nilanjana differs with us. She doesn’t
consider them different from human beings. So, she just didn’t imagine their
feelings, but felt them too!
It’s a great piece of narration- apt for the
recommendations & acclamations. Only one thing which refrains it get
reckoned as a literature piece is a few of grammatical mistakes, esp., in terms
of punctuations & statement modifications (e.g. at last paragraph on the
back of cover: She lives in Delhi with two cats & her husband. It should
be: She lives in Delhi with her husband & two cats). I felt like two/three
editors had gone through the editing of this piece which isn’t a good sign.
What I liked most about this book was that Hindi
words like ‘bevkoof’, ‘achcha’, etc. were given equal significance as that was
given to English words. They weren’t italicized
as we often do. Also, every character, even human beings- as Bigfeet, was
adorned with beautiful names; but that becomes little difficult too to memorize
what they were referred to (except main characters) as there were too many of
them. Also, there are beautiful pictures, illustrated by Prabha Mallya, which you
would surely love to click & save.
Nilanjana Roy has extended her imaginations up to
the boundaries of international acclaim which might win her loads of accolades.
Fingers crossed!
It’s a book recommended to every age group- what children
or adults. Don’t make any delay, even if you were never befriended with any
animal earlier.