MASSACRE AT MIDNIGHT

‘Massacre at midnight’ is a fascinating tale of medieval intrigue and revenge in the best traditions of ‘magic realism’ with a touch of the divine. Set in the Mughal times the story opens with the covetous Nawab of waariaul locking horns with the principled estate-owner of singhwaar over the possession of laadlii and Pyaare a famed pair of hunting dogs. The Nawab enlists the support of Mughal Army under false pretences portraying singhwaar’s thaakur as a seditious renegade. The family is massacred to the last man and singhwaar is laid waste. The widow gives birth to a male heir in a fugue abandoning the infant in the wilderness. The child is miraculously saved by the benevolent goddess vana-durgaa and becomes her favourite. When he comes of age destiny takes him to the imperial Court at Delhi for a show-down with his father murderer witnessed by the great Mughal himself. Based largely on folklore ‘massacre at midnight’ is replete with enchanting old world belief in miracles spirits protecting family fortunes and poetic justice for the unjust as well as glimpses of life in medieval Mithila.