My Review of the novel “Black Limericks by Ranjit Lal"

Ranjit Lal is a famous Indian author known for his books for children and young adults. He has his own website and has written around thirty-five books and articles. A few years ago, I had read his book “The Battle for Number 19”. That was a story of eight schoolgirls who are on a historical tour of Agra, Fatehpur Sikri and Delhi, get into trouble when they drive into Delhi on the day Indira Gandhi was assassinated. Their Sikh driver is dragged out and killed by a mob in front of them. The girls flee, seeking refuge in the first suitable house they can find. A beautiful empty house, stuffed with frightening masks and medieval weapons. Unfortunately it was a house that had been marked by the mobs, since it belonged to a Sikh. The book explains how the girls deal with the mob that tries to break in the house again and again. The book was a terrifying experience and really well written with nail-biting suspense.

From that day, I did keep this author in mind for his other books. One day, I chanced upon this book “Black Limericks” on Amazon and I liked the excerpt and bought it.  I read it recently, I felt like reviewing it and so here it is.

It is the story of a 17-year-old girl called Maya who lives in Delhi with her parents. She loves running and has a talent of making up limericks on the spot, based on any incident she faces at the moment. At home, she is constantly compared with her 13-year-old brother Jayant, who studies abroad and is a topper. Worse, her school doesn’t allow Maya to sit for her final exams for which her Mom nags her all the time. Her parents decide on going abroad to bring Jayant back at the end of his school year.  In those days, they plan to leave Maya at her Pankaj Mama’s beach resort, where they will join her on their return. Maya is delighted and looking forward to this break and a holiday near the sea.

Maya and her mother reach Mumbai and from there by car for Shanbagh (on a beach very near Goa) with another family, the Ahujas who are also going there. Maya starts talking to their 15-year-old son, Yash, who is shorter than her and is naughty and has a crazy sense of humour. He is impressed by Maya’s ability of making up instant limericks. They become friends. Maya looks forward to having a good time at the beach. She just has to take care to stay away from her cousins, Hari and Sherry who she is not exactly fond of. Sherry wants to be a model. 19-year-old Hari wants to be a journalist and keeps shooting videos with a camera. Maya always feels uncomfortable in Hari’s presence who has a tendency to get too close for comfort and finds every excuse to touch her and hug her and pass lewd comments.

Maya has a good time with her new friend Yash playing, swimming and running on the beach and in the coves near the sea. After he leaves, Maya does an act of bravery on the beach which makes her an instant heroine and famous before the press and TV channels. But her villainous cousin Hari stumbles upon a secret of hers and threatens to expose her unless she succumbs to and agrees to his dark desires. At the end, everything works out well.

The book depicts a lot of nudity in the scenes on the beach when Maya is enjoying herself with her friend Yash and some of the descriptions are weird and adult and appear unnecessary in a book that is meant for a young and juvenile audience. It seems at times that the author is obsessed with Maya’s body and figure which is described quite often. The erotic factor is too pronounced for a book written by a famous Indian author though it may be appealing to the senses of the reader.

The book then goes on to deal with teenage sex abuse of Maya by her cousin Hari who blackmails her by saying he will reveal her secret which he is privy to. But the topic could have been dealt with in a better manner.  Maya gives in every time Hari takes her to the hidden beaches and commands her to take off her swimsuit. She allows him to touch her body and capture her nude, with his camera. She is anguished no doubt, but the fear of her secret being revealed by Hari keeps her from stopping him.  Her mother has left her alone and Maya keeps suffering and feeling miserable alone. Maya never tells her mother what she has gone through at Hari’s hands, even after she returns. It is not that she is docile and scared of telling her mother; she is shown as a girl who speaks her mind and is very bold going by the interactions with her friend Yash. The lusty desires of her cousin Hari are resolved by the author by a miraculous and tame end with the tormentor being repentant and being forgiven. I don’t agree with this type of ending. It should be noted that teenage sex abuse is to be revealed and talked about, in this book it is not discussed at all. The book fails here due to its abrupt tame happy ending of Maya going back to her normal life. Maybe the author chickens out since the tormentor is Maya’s cousin. But then, the abuser in many families is a father, a brother, a cousin etc. in real life and girls do reveal sex abuse to a parent whom they trust and even file complaints. Nothing of this sort happens here, Hari apologizes and Maya forgives and moves on with her life. It may give a wrong signal to young boys who sexually abuse teen girls and they may be emboldened by such books. It may also misguide the victim girls who may get the feeling that it is alright to remain quiet instead of revealing the truth. The author fails here, big-time.

All in all, the book is gripping and a page turner, there is never a dull moment in the book. The author pulls the reader into the book and makes him/her a part of the story. Maya’s character is well etched, as is Yash’s. The teenage love scenes between Maya and Yash are described in detail alongwith the sea background and make for interesting reading for the erotic content. The background of the sea, waves, beach, coves, is very real and it gives the reader the feeling of being right there. I would recommend it for reading atleast once. I wish though that the message in the book had been conveyed in the right manner as I want the book to be remembered more for the subject rather than the erotic part between Maya and Yash. Right now, the latter overshadows the real story sadly.