Government action triggers terrorism

Imagine a country that decides overnight to expel everyone of Indian origin.

Imagine the predicament of thousands of people who face a ‘stateless’ situation of neither being able to stay where they are or go the country which once belonged to their ancestors.

Imagine the political and social upheaval that would occur when an ethnic Prime Minister is deposed, dishonoured and discharged.

Thousands of Indians who have lived in many parts of Africa would understand the plight of Tim Leiloma, the owner of a small bookshop in Flagstaff (imagine that as a city in the US, Australia or even New Zealand), when a government order expels them from their adopted country; to some even the country where they were born. Such was the plight when Idi Amin asked Indians to leave Uganda in 1972 and many other dictators in later years.

Political opportunists

Contrary to what we understand or what the media often portrays, terrorism and terrorists are not mere by-products of maniacs. They can be the offsprings of political opportunists, set to either gain political scores or satisfy their own sadistic thoughts.

Ultimate Laugh is more than what the title suggests – it is the story of how and why some of us become enemies of the powers that be, the communities around us and sometimes our own selves.

Driven to the corner, Tim, keen to protect his wife Sandy and their legal status, enlists the ‘services’ of Michael Manmohan Ram, a man who sets to right the wrong and establish some orderliness in a restive society.

The misgivings of Sandy as a simple, next-door girl, keen to satisfy the whims of her husband and the latter’s vicissitudes are all a part of this highly readable book, which takes you to Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and several places in India. It is a story of love, passion, terrorism and the claws of death – everything in fact that makes life interesting.

Changing fortunes

I am tempted to give the plot away, for, page after page, ‘Ultimate Laugh’ grips you with anxiety. But it would be unfair to you and the author. Suffice to repeat what the author has printed on the back cover:

“Michael stays with Tim and finds that he is no longer what he thought he was; that he is now looking at the world through his Western lens. To succeed in his mission he has to try to convince Tim to join forces with him. He also needs the help of deposed Prime Minister Thakur, who is now more interested in listening to Ghazals than getting his hands dirty in politics.

“As Michael goes about preparing himself for his day of reckoning he finds that he is haunted by his past; his failed romances and his life lived in both India and Australia, which has the effect of pushing him further into delusion and self-absorption.
“Does Michael succeed in his act of defiance? Can he restore self-respect to a much-maligned community? Is he able to save himself from extinction?”

During my correspondence with Pranesh, I discovered that he is a New Zealander and that the book was launched at the Ubud Writers Festival 2011, attended by a number of Booker and Pulitzer Prize winners.

He lives alternatively in Australia and India.

He will be in New Zealand later this year.