About the Book:
Educated, young, no-nonsense bearing, able
administrator—these are the qualities that won Sesha the loyalties of the
people after three years of rule as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. An
allegation that he was the mastermind behind the murder of 73 Kannadigas
threatens to bring him down but he is miraculously saved in the 11th hour.
Even
before he can relish his victory, Sesha is slapped with the charge of sexually
offending a young nurse. This time round, the case is strong and his supporters
are uncertain. Worse, his teenage daughter calls him 'vile' and walks out of
the house. While Mythili, his wife promises her full support, her secretive
activities—undertaken with the help of a retired cop—is a cause of concern for
Sesha.
Will
Zarina, the human-rights activist, succeed in bringing him down? What about the
insinuations of a celebrity lawyer that he is casteist and antiminorities? When
the young nurse is found dead, the case becomes even more complex. Who is
innocent? Who is guilty? And who is the mastermind?
Character Sketch:
SADAGOPAN
A 1972
IPS cadre officer. A person of upright character. Impeccable track record in Tamil
Nadu police for 38 years. Precisely the reasons for which Madras High Court
appoints him as a special investigator to go into the role of Sesha in the massacre
of 73 Kannadigas.
Sadagopan
looks more like a mathematics professor than an ace cop. Though the world has
moved towards progressive lenses, he still uses a pair of bifocal spectacles,
which adds respectability to his personality. Post-retirement indulgence in
tasty food has left him with a small paunch, which looks more pronounced
because of his lean structure, and earns him the taunts of his wife. To pacify
her, he has been climbing the stairs to his third-floor apartment everyday.
Sadagopan
knows Mythili from her childhood. He was her neighbour in Srirangam. Her father
and he were buddies from school days. And this—that he is a family friend of
Mythili— was enough for Zarina’s lawyer, the one who was prosecuting Sesha, to
trash Sadagopan’s findings.
Has he
let down Mythili? Has his acquaintance with Mythili’s family turned out to be
his undoing? He curses himself for accepting this assignment. All his
achievements would be forgotten and only this would be remembered.
He is
a trained cop. He can’t afford to feel diffident. He can’t accept defeat till
has put in his best. The judgement is just a few days ahead. A chance viewing
of an innocuous documentary aired by a TV channel to mark the 2nd
anniversary of the killing of Kannadigas offers him an interesting lead. In the
next couple of action packed two days, he comes up with incontrovertible proof.
That
is Sadagopan. He fights till the last. And he succeeds.
But
then when Sesha faces sexual harassment charge, see what he has to say to
Mythili when she seeks his help in proving Sesha’s innocence: ‘Sexual
harassment cases are not pursued to the end. The trial does not happen in
courtrooms, especially when the accused is a celebrity; it happens in the
studios of TV channels. We don’t ever come to know whether the charge was real
or false. The alleged perpetrator lives with a constant blemish on his
character. They’ve learnt to live with this. Perhaps Sesha also has to…’
Is he
giving up before even trying?
Buy Links:
About the Author:
Hariharan lives with his
wife in Dar es Salaam while his two sons are pursuing their ambitions in
India.
Contact Hariharan:
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