A tale of the Indian civilization and culture, The ekkos Clan written by debutant author Sudipto Das takes you on a roller coaster ride, telling the mystery behind the Aryan race as well as delving into the origin of stories behind mankind’s greatest book, The Rig Veda.
Kubha, the grandmother living in Bangladesh with her hoary past and a basketful of fables that have been passed on from generation to generation, form the backbone of the story. Her grandson Kratu, his best friend Tista and Afsar, a linguistic paleontologist, discover that Kubha’s stories are more than mere bedtime tales. However, trying to discover the mystery behind this, Kratu miraculously survives a bizarre incident. This is not the first time that accidents have befallen his family as his sister and uncle have died mysteriously in the past. Were these accidents, murders, revengeful acts or an ideological conflict connected to Kubha and her past?
Afsar, Kratu and Tista accompanied by experts travel across continents from Russia to Pakistan to Bangladesh to unravel the mystery of Kubha’s roots and the origin of her stories.
The author brings out India’s amalgamation of so many cultures, languages, races where it attracted people from far off lands to come and settle down and pass on their heritage to the local people. As Sudipto says, “It is the story of everyone who has come here from everywhere with their own self and got mixed into the vast sea of humanity - that is India. Aryans and non-Aryans, Dravidians and Chinese Scythians, Huns, Pathans and Moguls all are mixed, merged and lost in one body” - that’s my body - the body of an Indian. India is the story of impeccable harmony,tolerance and all-inclusive civilization.” Crafting the plot line in an interesting manner, Sudipto Das brings out how Krato’s search for his family’s killers reveal his own roots and the mystery behind Markani Begum who is none other
than his own grandmother Kubha. Exploring multiple generations of a family, the book follows a pattern where one gets to read about linguistics, history, archaeology, music, engineering and philosophy moving from chapter to chapter. Although an enjoyable read, one has to really concentrate to make a connect and remember the plethora of living and dead characters.