Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

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It takes talent to write from the perspective of a nine-year-old-child and capture the authenticity of a young mind experiencing situations they have never encountered before and Anappara does an incredible job using some beautifully descriptive writing to describe the many unique sounds, smells, and general atmosphere only found in India. Nine-year-old Jai, a Hindu schoolboy is obsessed with detective and police shows on TV. He decides to become a child detective and enlists two of his schoolmates to serve as his assistants after a boy at his school, Bahadur, goes missing. Pari is smarter but is given a subordinate role because she is a girl. His friend Faiz, is. Moslem boy. He misses a lot of school as he needs to work to help his parents. Their investigation starts amidst complete indifference by the local police. The police make no effort to look for Bahadur, claiming he ran away. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Penguin Random House Canada for an ecopy of this novel. I am providing my honest review. This was released February 2020. I first tried writing this novel in 2009, but set it aside, unsure whether I had the authority to write about a marginalised, neglected community. I returned to it in 2016. I had written several short stories by then with child narrators; I had also read a number of books and watched films with child narrators. Added to this were my own personal experiences of loss and uncertainty, and the greater understanding of mortality that perhaps comes with age – all these factors in some way gave me the permission to write Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, and shaped its narrative.

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line - Penguin Random House Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line - Penguin Random House

While Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line is a fascinating study of India in the modern age, the plot left much to be desired. The protagonist was difficult to gel with and the pacing was far too slow to be enjoyable. None of which was helped by the rushed ending, which felt like an afterthought and unearned. Flood, Alison (3 March 2020). "Women's prize for fiction lines up 'heavy hitters' on 2020 longlist". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 October 2020. a b c d "The 2020 JCB Prize for Literature Shortlist Announced". Outlook. 25 September 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020 . Retrieved 1 October 2020.

Sadly, this situation is not limited to fiction, but has been our reality for decades on end. The seeds of distrust between the Hindu and Muslim communities were first sown by the British, during the era of colonial rule. Since Independence, religious fundamentalists and political aspirants who seek to indulge in divisive politics have used the same tactic to repeatedly sow hatred between religions. The currently fraught situation in our national capital is, in fact, an example of what happens when ‘leaders’ in positions of power blatantly abuse the power of speech to drive a wedge between people on the basis of religion. Racism rears its ugly head when it is realised that none of the children who have gone missing are Muslim, so naturally it is immediately assumed that the culprit must be a Muslim. The clashes between Muslim and Hindu, between India and Pakistan seem to be on a never- ending cycle in the news feeds and perhaps this is a jibe at the interminable confrontations. The world-building also adds to the tension of the story—the smog hides the children, making it easier for them to disappear, be kidnapped, or taken by djinns, which is Jai’s prevailing theory. This book is a sad refection of the times we live in, of the mindset of a handful who would rather indulge in nonsensical hate than direct their and the nation’s energy in doing something substantial and effective. It’s not often that you stumble upon a mystery narrated—and investigated—by a grade schooler. Even less common is such a tale as masterfully wrought as the 2020 novel Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line . Jai, age 9, lives in a basti, a slum-like settlement, near the end of Delhi’s purple metro line, and loves reality police shows. He joins forces with Pari, a bookworm, and Faiz, a hard worker, to explore what, exactly, happened to their missing classmate. But then other children start to disappear, and the story grows darker. With great care, author Deepa Anappara intersperses chapters told from the perspectives of the missing children.

An interview with Deepa Anappara – City Short Courses An interview with Deepa Anappara – City Short Courses

EP: Jai watches lots of reality TV cop shows and adopts the role of a detective in trying to find his missing classmate. This feels like a brilliant way in to telling this story. How did the cop show/detective strand come about? The ingrained sexual bias which ranges from career expectations to divisions of home labour to routine harassment As a journalist, Anappara has had a first-hand view of the plight of the people who live in poverty whose problems are at the bottom of anyone’s list of concerns. She’s reported hundreds of children lost, never to be found, their names a mere blot on official papers that make the rounds of government offices.

I also would have liked a bit more of the supernatural elements that the book only ever touches upon—there’s plenty of talk about djinns and stories about particular djinns who protect people, but they end up having little to no bearing on the actual plot. EP: You were previously an award-winning journalist in India. How difficult was it to make the leap from writing as a journalist to writing fiction? In a sprawling Indian city, three friends venture into the most dangerous corners to find their missing classmate . . .

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara – review

This book was longlisted for the Women’s Prize, and it is most definitely worthy. Seamlessly written, with a powerful and critical message, I thank the author for this most thoughtful and thought-provoking book. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line is a coming of age novel set in the slums of an Indian city. Young Jai has a vivid imagination and a fascination with cop shows. When one of his classmates goes missing he enlists his two best friends, Pari and Faiz, into "detectivating" with him. As the three set about on their case we are introduced to the sights, sounds, and characters that fill the basti. Although this book shifts narrators to lend a voice to the victims as they go missing, it is told entirely from the perspective of children. Ranging in age from 5 to 16 you get to see how much they are neglected and overlooked, how much responsibility is placed in their small laps and the dangers they face as they try to navigate this world. You also get to see how they pass on knowledge through stories - "Listen. This story may save your life." Reality shows on TV are popular in India as it is elsewhere across the world, and the one about cops that Jai watches called Police Patrol is based on a similar, long-running TV show in India. It seemed natural that Jai would be inspired by what he watches on TV; popular culture in the form of TV and Hindi films do exert an influence on daily lives. This particular aspect of the story is painfully true to life—the religious divisions in India have been increasing over the last few decades. The text presents these matters as they would happen in the real world and it makes for disturbing, albeit realistic, reading.As the narrative progresses more children go missing and Anappara will devote a chapter to the perspective of the missing child. This is a masterstroke and these chapters are a direct contrast to the innocence and naivety of Jai’s chapters. They enlighten the reader to the reality of what is happening, build suspense, and prepare the reader for the later darker stages of the novel. I recommend this book for someone wanting to get lost in the streets of Metropolitan India. This is a coming of age story more than a mystery, and it delivers a powerful commentary on a true story, and how tragedy can shape an entire community. The story itself became repetitive. After one child disappeared, Jai and Pari investigated and played detective, and I was into it. However, then the same thing just kept happening. Another would disappear, Jai and Pari would investigate, turn up empty handed and go home, then another disappear, etc. So, the progress wasn’t as engaging as I would have preferred. The narrator Jai is a nine year old boy growing up in a basti (slum) on the edge of an unnamed Indian city, near the end of the metro line which gives the book part of its title. Fortunately the djinns and fantasy elements only exist in Jai's head - his reality is a grim one, and gets worse when the children of the basti start disappearing one or two at a time.

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara - Reading Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara - Reading

The children in my novel were very much inspired by the children I had interviewed as a reporter. Many of them were working, or weren’t able to study, because of their difficult financial or domestic circumstances. Despite this, they were often cheeky and witty, if not downright sarcastic. I drew from the memories of those interviews, and from the children I know in my life, to create the voices of my characters. Since December, people in India have been participating in peaceful marches (apart from those who have resorted to stone pelting) because they want to have their problems heard and solved. Instead of concentrating on The Personal Data Protection Bill, which is said to have the potential to ‘turn India into an Orwellian state’, or the Trans Bill, which violates the fundamental rights of citizens, we are choosing to focus only on religious issues today. This misplaced focus has led to a number of problematic bills getting passed, thereby pushing the common man’s problems down to the bottom of the barrel to get lost and forgotten. This is also the case in the book, where the authorities choose to play a blame-game based on religion rather than focussing on the actual investigation into the case of the vanishing children. The story is narrated in a simple first-person present tense (although one strewn with Hindi slang terms) by a nine-year old: Jai. Jai who lives with his parents and elder sister Runu (Runu-didi) in a basti (temporary turned permanent, slum district) in India. Runu is (to the extent Jai is a fan of real-life crime reenactment shows like “Police Patrol”, his two best friends are Pari (a bright girl) and Faiz (a Muslim, and believer in djinns). Runu is (to the limited extent her parent’s permit it) a keen and proficient athlete (relay runner).children go missing each day in India. Only 1 in 3 will ever be found. These are staggering statistics and the basis of this novel.