Calling Sehmat

Calling Sehmat

  - Harinder Sikka

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is one of the rare cases where the movie was better than the book. I had been meaning to read the book, but happened to watch the movie first. Then, I learnt that the book covers details that were not shown in the movie, and therefore decided to read the book.

I started reading with quite an interest, since the movie was so good, kept you on the edge, and I expected the book to be even better. However, I didn't find the writer to be a good storyteller at all, which is such a pity, because this was a great story, and a true one to boot. The writing style is very bland - he keeps on stating facts after facts, so that it feels more like a book report (and of a teenager, at that) rather than a book. Most of the narration comes across as painfully labored, and several places, especially the romance threads, are full of Bollywood-ish clichés. So, after about 40-50 pages, I ended up speed reading it, to get the story. The details of events, and characterization of people, that one would wish to see, is missing for most part. The only event that is accorded ample detail is the naval history of the ‘71 war, which is interesting to read, but is not really a part of Sehmat’s story.

I would give this one 2.5 stars, and that is only because of the story.

Minor Spoilers Ahead …

There seems to be a lot of inconsistencies in the way events take place. You would expect the top brass of ISI to have a great degree of cunning. It would be possible for her in-laws to be deceived by an innocent looking young girl, but it stretches the imagination to believe that this inexperienced and little trained girl could take over the running of their entire lives. It is also difficult to believe that top-secret military strategy discussions take place in intelligence officers’ homes, but it is inconceivable that the discussions would be held in the presence of not just family members, but even servants.

In this aspect, the movie was more convincing as Sehmat is not shown as the one calling all the shots everywhere. Further, the book portrays the husband almost as a dumb sidekick, while the movie lends him an endearing personality. In fact, the movie portrayed the whole Sayeed family in a very sympathetic manner, probably a little too much, so that you can’t dislike them as people.

Major Spoilers …..

The biggest conflict lies in her reaction to the lives she is compelled to take. She feels guilty after she runs over Abdul, but doesn’t give much thought after killing Mehmood, and is smiling that it was Munira who was killed in the blast instead of her. Yet, afterwards, the guilt draws her into a deep trauma. Further, it is Abdul’s murder that haunts her, who had never trusted her; rather than that of Mehmood, Munira, and presumably Iqbal – people who had trusted her and showered affection upon her.

Secret agents are just that – secret. They can’t be given a red carpet welcome in public, or even outside a very restricted circle – it would seriously jeopardize their lives, and surely that’s plain common sense?

Some unanswered questions …

How did General Sayeed come to know that the mole in their midst was Sehmat? The process of elimination? The links to the shopkeeper? The fingerprint evidence?

Who was the family member that Samar’s boss calls up? Perhaps it is indicated that it was Aby, but he can’t be the person whom no one knows about, because Samar himself was brought up by him.

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies 

  - Alexander McCall Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is more of a review of the series in general, and only a little about this particular book.

After reading glowing recommendations of the series from several members of my online reading group, I checked out the story line to convince myself that this is really worth a read. That done, I bought some of the series, two at a time. I really liked the first two - there isn't much by way of crime detection, but it has a great human angle. However, after that it has been a roller-coaster kind of ride.

I found #3 quite repetitive, and also boring because there wasn't much of a story here. So I decided not to read further than the ones I already had. But when I read #4, I felt that the series had redeemed itself. And so, onto #5 and #6 (to save on delivery charges on a book I really wanted to read at that time), and before I had a chance to read them, bought #7 and #8 (at a used-book sale). #5 hit quite a low for me - not only had I had enough of the old Botwsana morality and Sir Sertse Khama, I was also disappointed that Mma Ramotswe did not give the right advice to her client.

Coming to the #6, I liked it much better than the previous one. For one, though there are references to the things that have been a constant through the series, they are subdued and not played up excessively. There is a positive movement in the lives of people involved, which cheers up the spirit. On the downside, the two lead characters - Ramotswe and Makutsi appear to be indulging in an increasing sense of self-worth (the former for her virtues, the latter for her smartness), and becoming more and more judgemental in the process. At this stage, one even wonders whether their partnership will last, but it obviously does, because there are 19 books out there.

Spoilers ...

There is also an unexplained thread - the intruder in Mma Ramotswe's home and the pumpkin left outside her house - I am still perplexed what it was all about. I wish it would be explained in one of the subsequent books, but I do not hold much hope because of the way the books are written. The business of Mr Maketoni's house is also only half addressed - while Charlie is taken care of, who would want their house to be misused?

As one of my GR friend says, this series is running out of stream. The preaching about traditional values have run their course, and pace of story is erratic at best. As of now, I don't plan to read after the book 8, but you never know. As a matter of curiosity, I looked at the stats of the series on GR - number of ratings, and rating. The number of people who have continued to follow the series is consistently declining (it makes an interesting graph), while the rating is more or less increasing. Perhaps the ones who are sticking to it are die-hard fans :).