RIOT - Shashi Tharoor

RIOT, by Shashi Tharoor, is not a conventional novel. It is not a story that starts with a ‘once upon a time’ and ends in a ‘happily ever after’. It has no linearity, no narrative, and neither a formal structure. It is an engrossing story in its own right; but which serves a much wider purpose in this ambitious and utterly fascinating novel. Yes, it is an experiment; but a pretty successful one at that!

It speaks about a troubled time in India. It is about one of the most historic riots of the country, when extremism and provocation by Hindus and Muslims led to militancy. The author has admirable knowledge about the subcontinent’s history and current ills, including the increasing intolerance of religious diversity. The ensuing mayhem gave license to kill and avenge with little chance of accountability. Amidst all this, there is the ill-fated romance of Priscilla Hart, a young American working for an NGO in India, and Lakshman, an older, married Indian civil servant. The investigation of the death/murder of Priscilla in these intense circumstances forms the impetus of the story.

However, here is where it gets different from the other novels. There is no narrator to interpret the events of Priscilla's death and of the riot. The author leaves all interpretation up to the reader. The book is an assortment of newspaper stories, entries in Priscilla's scrapbook, letters to her best friend at home and to Lakshman, transcripts of meetings with government officials, and a reporter's interviews with extremist religious leaders, the police, professors and Priscilla’s parents, including even a birthday card and a handful of poems. Through these, the passionate affair of Priscilla and Lakshman comes to life, as well as emerge the complex and tumultuous forces which contribute to her death.

Shashi Tharoor is a smooth and disciplined writer who respects his characters and his readers. He presents historical background clearly and allows for multiple interpretations of events, assigning no blame and making no declarations of truth. His characters are realistic, and he brings out the differences between cultures insightfully. This is a novel which enlightens while it entertains, presenting a rational view of irrational behaviours. It provides a context through which the author asks questions about cultural identity and presents an impassioned plea for understanding and tolerance among cultures.

Human life is full of paradoxes, and human relationships are no less complex. There are no finalities, no fixed beliefs, nothing good, nor bad. It is all a matter of perspectives. The different pieces of the collage in Riot are often divergent, often contradictory accounts of the same event. Yet each has its validity, its own truth.