A Demon in Dandi

 

A Demon in Dandi by Lavanya Karthik takes us back in time to 1930 to a quaint fishing village with mangroves and salt encrusted beaches lacking proper roads or access to drinking water, Dandi in Gujarat. Indians marched in huge numbers openly defying the oppressive salt laws and tax imposed by the British right under their intent and mocking gaze. A roaring success, Dandi march marked the  beginning of a country wide non-violent Civil Disobedience movement and in good measure, its success was due to the efforts of Arun Tukdi, a group of volunteers who spread Gandhi's messages and laboured to ensure that he and the marchers had basic food and accommodation at different stopovers along the way. 

Dinu, a 15 yr old boy from a rich business family in Surat is sent to work as a volunteer by his father. A misfit in the group, a distracted Dinu roams around Dandi, makes a few friends and finds himself at the center of a murder and theft in Wasim Seth’s mansion. An avid reader of Sherlock Holmes adventures, he silently resolves to unveil the murderer and show the villagers that the crime is not the handiwork of a demon that supposedly haunted the village. Does Dinu manage to nab the culprit and how? This slim, well-written murder mystery with the Salt Satyagraha in the backdrop holds the answers and much more. 

Several ideals that Bapu preached are carefully woven into the narrative - right to education for all irrespective of gender, caste and class and a vehement no to superstitions, alcoholism and gambling. Wasim Seth, though an Indian National Congress supporter, has a son politically leaning towards Muslim League and by placing such contrasts in the same family, the author highlights the need for tolerance. As Dinu slowly rules out suspects he listed out at initially, he learns more about the world around him and his abilities, what he means to the Tukdi and what the Tukdi means to satyagraha movement; thus making the story his coming of age journey too. 

Just like other titles from the Songs of Freedom series, this book too explores the lives of children across India during the struggle for independence. A comprehensive historical note at the book's end helps us clearly understand what's fiction and what the facts are. Sketches of Dandi and its landmarks, layout of a traditional house belonging to Dawoodi Bohra community, the Salt March route and the recipe for raab (a porridge made from bajra/wheat flour sweetened with jaggery, a staple for Tukdi volunteers) shared at the end enrich our reading experience. The author's acknowledgements is easily one of the best I have read in a long time. Lavanya Karthik’s A Demon in Dandi is a beautiful addition to the Songs of Freedom series. An engaging read, I enjoyed reading this one! 

(Note: Thanks to the publishers for providing me with a review copy of this lovely book in return for an honest review)