JACOB HILLS

Just put down my very own copy of Ismita Tandon Dhankher's tour de force "Jacob Hills" and must say that it left me with plenty of food for thought, fuming at the nocturnal tendencies and idiosyncracies of a few army officers mentioned and above all salivating for more from this intrepid author who does not hesitate to speak her mind and put her money where her mouth is....... Set in the tranquil, serene and sylvan climes of Jacob Hills (an army officer training facility near the Himachali capital of Simla), this rambling tale is a fictitious account of the tragic, calamitous and heart rending events that unfold within this "isolated" environment during the span of one calendar year....... This book is essentially a fictional account of a period in the mid nineteen eighties, a period wherein Indian society was at it's repressive best and the inter mingling of the two sexes was not only looked down upon as an aberration but also actively discouraged and frowned at...... The hierarchical pecking order left behind by the erstwhile British army that continues to exist within the echelons of our very own Indian army, aristocratic drink and party culture furthered by a band of select army officers and their better halves hell bent upon furthering and nurturing the legacy of the British empire and the intercinine warfare amongst the officerial ranks for supremacy and one upmanship are the backbone and backdrop of this 260 odd page long litany or then should I say outpouring of a pained and wounded heart..... It all comes to a boil when the beautiful and conscientious Eva, the charming and effusive wife of Major Chandy finds herself at the heart of an unfolding murder mystery when the mortally wounded body of a young woman id found in a desolate, decrepit and deserted church that has been abandoned since the 1860's as many a tale about the malefic effects of a black cross adorning the church begun doing the rounds....... Episodes of incest, unimaginable extents of brutality and bestiality against the fairer sex, the totally unnecessary and unwarranted suicide of an up and coming Major and last but not the least perennial instances of junior officers prostituting their legally married wives in an effort to fast track their own fledgling careers round off the book and provide it with it's aura of intrigue, mystery and disturbing realism........ Priced at an extremely affordable Rs. 299/- (you can get the book at a whopping discount of 25-30% if you buy the book through Flipkart), this gut wrenching novel should surely abandon the shelves of all self respecting Indians who care for the country and are always willing to raise their voices against the decaying moral fabric of our society and fast vanishing humanity from our midst........