Terror Trail

It was Tarun Tejpal’s third book launch in two years,and the Who’s Who seemed to be present. At the rooftop hall of the Taj Mahal hotel on Friday evening,journalists discussed world affairs with politicians,writers shared anecdotes with socialites,and everyone looked pleased.

The book,titled The Valley of Masks,(Harper-Collins,Rs 499),was released over wine and appetisers,and amid people jostling for space. The book,which resounds with deliberate references to Kashmir,has tried to capture the essence of the extremists,who pursue the idea of collectivism to the hilt. A visibly excited Tejpal said,“When the idea becomes more important than the man,more important than compassion,then it’s very dangerous. Thousands have been killed in the last decade,not in the name of religion,but for an ideological eutopia,” he said.

The book follows two critically acclaimed books — The Alchemy of Desire and The Story of my Assasins. Indian political psychologist,Ashis Nandy,one of the panelists present to discuss Tejpal’s latest books,said,“I can’t use buzz words like ‘unputdownable’ for this book. As a matter of fact,I had to put the book down many times,because it was too disturbing,too real.”

Written in a first-person narrative,it is the story of an extremist organisation,which teaches violent perfection to young children,even priesthood for women and attempts to understand why the extremists killed others and themselves. Among other guests present at the launch were L K Advani,Shashi Tharoor,Sharmila Tagore,Soha Ali Khan and Meghnad Desai.