Jacob Hills by Ismita Tandon Dhankher Before Ismita Tandon Dharkher took up prose and poetry she studied sociology, history and economics at Sophia College, Ajmer. She also obtained an MBA and worked briefly for the Thomas Cook foreign exchange division in Mumbai. At the time of writing, she is working on a book that will contain poems and photographs, titled – The Song of the Sufi Masroof.
We talk here of Ismita’s latest novel Jacob Hills. A stark portrayal of life at an army station in 1980’s India, Jacob Hills holds a mirror to shocking events that unfold at the place that serves as a War College to aspirants. It is only indicated that Jacob Hills is located somewhere in Himachal Pradesh, somewhere in proximity to Shimla. In the introductory note, the writer clarifies that though the book features the Indian army it is, “Not about a particular organization, but about people and the choices they make.”
The prologue makes for a disturbing start, as we get a firsthand account of an army officer’s battered wife. We see that the nameless woman is contemplating escape of a different kind as she writes with finality: I ran from home to be with him, and then from him, exhausted in mind and spirit, I ran deep within. But this time I must go further, someplace my voice can’t reach me. From her the narrative is handed over to Eva Chandy, and Anglo-Indian married to the moody George Chandy. We come across her on a train journey as the couple looks to settle down in Jacob Hills, knowing little of what is in store for them. We then meet Saryu, the helpless, ‘ugly’ wife who is treated as meat by her demonic, blind with ambition husband Vikram. Captain Rana is a young officer at the War College who is embroiled in a life-altering consequence of his own making. The dark clouds of mystery, menace, lust and murder refuse to move away as the book plunges head on with its tale of murder, exploitation and unearthing unpleasant secrets.
The baton of narrating the story keeps passing, and in retrospect it is Col. Tehlan’s side of the story that stands out for the implications it spools at the end of the book. Also, a short note by the six year-old Bunny is as shocking a revelation. The shades are similar to the writing style of Agatha Christie and words are put to good effect.
This is a good novel, sheathed in bitter truths, revealing a perverse society still stagnant, wildly in pursuit in matters pertaining to the matters of the flesh.
We talk here of Ismita’s latest novel Jacob Hills. A stark portrayal of life at an army station in 1980’s India, Jacob Hills holds a mirror to shocking events that unfold at the place that serves as a War College to aspirants. It is only indicated that Jacob Hills is located somewhere in Himachal Pradesh, somewhere in proximity to Shimla. In the introductory note, the writer clarifies that though the book features the Indian army it is, “Not about a particular organization, but about people and the choices they make.”
The prologue makes for a disturbing start, as we get a firsthand account of an army officer’s battered wife. We see that the nameless woman is contemplating escape of a different kind as she writes with finality: I ran from home to be with him, and then from him, exhausted in mind and spirit, I ran deep within. But this time I must go further, someplace my voice can’t reach me. From her the narrative is handed over to Eva Chandy, and Anglo-Indian married to the moody George Chandy. We come across her on a train journey as the couple looks to settle down in Jacob Hills, knowing little of what is in store for them. We then meet Saryu, the helpless, ‘ugly’ wife who is treated as meat by her demonic, blind with ambition husband Vikram. Captain Rana is a young officer at the War College who is embroiled in a life-altering consequence of his own making. The dark clouds of mystery, menace, lust and murder refuse to move away as the book plunges head on with its tale of murder, exploitation and unearthing unpleasant secrets.
The baton of narrating the story keeps passing, and in retrospect it is Col. Tehlan’s side of the story that stands out for the implications it spools at the end of the book. Also, a short note by the six year-old Bunny is as shocking a revelation. The shades are similar to the writing style of Agatha Christie and words are put to good effect.
This is a good novel, sheathed in bitter truths, revealing a perverse society still stagnant, wildly in pursuit in matters pertaining to the matters of the flesh.
JACOB HILLS- Ismita tandon dhankher click for video
Jacob Hills by Ismita Tandon Dhankher is a stark fictional look at an army station in the 1980’s. It centers on shocking events that occur at Jacob Hills – including murder, child abuse, sexual exploitation, hierarchy politics, and domestic violence. Disarmingly frank in its descriptions of atrocities that unfold through the eyes of multiple characters in a varied narrative, Jacob Hills is a novel of suspense, dark truths and exposed hypocrisy – holding a mirror to all things devious in a person. As the writer explains eruditely in the introduction – “The book is not about a particular organization, but about people and the choices they make.”
Ismita Tandon Dhankher is a Pune based writer and poet. Her poem ‘I am Beautiful’ has won the Yahoo-Dove Indibloggers contest. Her first novel – Love on the Rocks, a romantic thriller was first published in 2011. First published in 2013, Jacob Hills is the second novel of Ismita Tandon Dharkher. Ismita studied sociology, history and economics at Sophia College, Ajmer. She also has an MBA degree to her credit. After a brief tenure at Thomas Cook, Mumbai she finally took to prose and poetry with a vengeance.
Ismita Tandon Dhankher is a Pune based writer and poet. Her poem ‘I am Beautiful’ has won the Yahoo-Dove Indibloggers contest. Her first novel – Love on the Rocks, a romantic thriller was first published in 2011. First published in 2013, Jacob Hills is the second novel of Ismita Tandon Dharkher. Ismita studied sociology, history and economics at Sophia College, Ajmer. She also has an MBA degree to her credit. After a brief tenure at Thomas Cook, Mumbai she finally took to prose and poetry with a vengeance.