Arjun Chatterjee, the hero of this little novel, races at a dizzy pace through scenes set both in 1857 and the present. Tormented by recurring but incomplete dreams, he whips from scene to vivid scene as the complex story unfolds in 64 short chapters. Arjun is a senior corporate executive living in Mumbai who in his dreams regresses into a series of past-life memories set in Calcutta. He is led to present-day Calcutta, where he is attracted to Shiela, an attractive historian who has unearthed an old document that draws him as well as a few villainous characters determined to prevent the manuscript being revealed. His reincarnated enemies are sophisticated, politically powerful and possess a mysterious but fairly plausible nuclear weapon similar to a crude device that failed to detonate during the sepoy mutiny. This time too, despite the creation of a superior delivery system, Arjun succeeds in foiling his adversary’s diabolical plot.
With big scoops of romance, murder and mayhem, the plot unfolds in a series of unexpected situations. There are several very well written cameos of the historical scenes relating to Mangal Pandey, the Meerut mutiny and other key events of 1857, including well-balanced profiles of the British and Indians involved. Despite the numerous characters and constant changes of situation and pace, the book is a gripping read.
