Title: Kapilipisaara Writer: Dr K N Ganeshaiah Publisher: Ankita Pustaka, 53, Gandhi Bazar Main Road, Basavanagudi, Bangalore 5 6 0 0 0 4 . P h o n e : 0 8 0 - 26617100/26617755.
Pages: 204; Price: Rs 130 IN Kannada literature, the number of thrillers are less, may be counted with fingers.
Translated version of Devaki Nandan Khatri’s Chandrakanta in Hindi has come recently into Kannada.
Dr R P Hegde translated the novel. Srinivasacharya had translated Alexandre Dumas’ French novel ‘The Count of Monte Christo’ into Kannada as ‘Raaja Malayasimha’.
They cannot be considered as thrillers in the real sense.
But still, looking at the construction of the story and the fantasy used in those novels, they may be classified as thrillers. But Ganeshaiah should be considered the first thriller writer in Kannada.
He is basically an agriculture scientist working in Bangalore Agriculture University.
His CD on the flora in the Western Ghats is a real treasure for botany students, teachers, journalists and researchers.
The CD contains all the details of plants - their botanical names, regional names in different vernacular languages, exact locations where they are available along the Western Ghats, other plants belonging to the same species and family and simple uses. The details are supported with maps, graphics and photographs of the plants.
His interests are multi-dimensional.
He is curious not only about plants but also animals.
He initiated thriller writing in Kannada. Thrillers are usually filled with some actions and investigations.
But Ganeshaiah’s thrillers have set a new trend in Kannada literature. He blends science, history, archaeology, anthropology, mythology, philosophy, linguistics and other branches of knowledge in his writings to make the reader believe that his stories are real.
So his books usually take the reader to a different world of phantasm. His writing style is also fresh, convincing and entertaining.
‘Kapilipisaara’ is his third novel. The novel’s protagonoist is a lusty scientistcum- businessman from the West trying to use the innocent Indian scientists to do research on two wonder drugs which can make life stand still and again bring life back to normal at will.
The basis for the research goes back to the epic Ramayana where there is a reference about ‘Sanjeevini’.
The story is constructed around different places across the country and Andaman Islands. The plot moves back and forth in time - from the time of the epic Ramayana to the contemporary time.
The story mesmerises and creates a hallucination that what Ganeshaiah is narrating in the novel is fact and not fiction.
At the climax, when the reader is looking for the final outcome about the wonder drug Ganeshaiah suddenly brings the reader back to reality.
He abruptly wakes up the mesmerised reader.
The last sentence in the novel is very catchy. The English version of the sentence is: “Yes. It is better and beautiful if some issues remain as imagination for several generations.” With this Ganeshaiah leaves the concept of wonder drug to the imagination of the reader.
m arunbenaka@gmail.com