Delhi’s Sherluck Holmes

If you were to bump into Vish Puri in Khan Market, you would probably feel a bit condescending towards this garrulous gent, with his pompous air, grey safari suit and business card announcing 'Most Private Investigators — Confidentiality is our Watchword.' If you encounter him in the bylanes of fiction, however, you cannot help being impressed. For, behind Puri’s sweaty, aloo-paratha-chomping demeanour lies the determination to crack every single mystery that comes his way, and be "most definitely getting to the bottom of it by hook or by crook." For, Vish Puri is the foremost paperbackprivate eye in New Delhi — as his second outing in The Case of the Man whoDied Laughing indicates. He is a master of disguises and the unsung art of"breaking and entering". His agency commands the services of numerous undercoveragents with monikers like Facecream, Tubelight and Flush. And, as far as friendsand family are concerned, he is clearly, “Mr Sherluck” .So it is hardly surprising that the Delhi police should turn to this overweight sleuth when a dramatic crime rocks the capital. Early on a warm June morning, the members of the Rajpath Laughing Club are busy with their “Gibberish Exercise” and "Jester Laughter" when a ghastly murder is committed. The victim is the well-known rationalist Dr Subhash Jha, who works ceaselessly to unmask village fakirs, travelling sadhus and celebrity godmen. In fact, the ‘Guru Buster’ had just taken on powerful Maharaj Swami, a godman famous for levitating, producing valuable objects out of the air and attracting wealthy followers. It is, however, the manner in which this murder is executed that is so startling. For, the numerous eyewitnesses at Rajpath maintain that the weapon was wielded by a floating, 20-foot apparition of the goddess Kali, complete with a protruding tongue, necklace of skulls and screeching voice. Confronted by such a killer, Inspector Jagat Prakash Singh quickly summons his quick-witted friend to the scene. The stage isthen set for a madcap adventure that careens from carrom addas to slicknightclubs; dispirited slums to snotty gymkhanas; bustling temples to five-starashrams. Meanwhile, Puri’s redoubtable Mummyji and wife Rumpi are busyconducting their own rollicking investigation into a robbery that hasscandalised their kitty party circuit. Writer Tarquin Hall serves upa clever plot, and wicked twist. He also makes the most of the flexible natureof the murder mystery to introduce some fabulously funny characters, and thebook is packed with ‘Only in India’ moments and scenarios.Of course, Puri Sir gets his man. Mummyji and Rumpi get their woman.And the reader gets an enjoyable few days in their cheerful,grammaticallychallenged company.