A Phoenix for a Burning Nation

The narrative brings to life a quiet hero who rises from his own pyre to rekindle India's moral flames

- By NANDITA BOSE

Arcane books are a reviewer's secret crush. And Testimony by Fire by Atulya Misra is a simple, straightforward narrative with no bells or whistles, no linguistic calisthenics, and it unfolds slowly to reveal its quiet power. For this is a rare book: a full-on fantasy with a deep thinker's version of India. It is probably a Gandhian fantasy that all that ails India can be mitigated by the power of one man in the face of loot, corruption, and communalism. Just such a man is Ranjeeth, or Ranji, the hero of this book.

In a few broad sweeps of the brush, the narrator paints his credentials right up to his retirement, his loss of place in this world, and his loneliness now that his daughters live abroad. He floats into the household of an ex-President of India, himself a bachelor, and despite individual differences, settles in. The narrator is in the best position to chronicle Ranji's life from within his inner circle. Perhaps great men deserve this sort of acolyte. "His chest was still, his hands resting gently at his sides, the serenity of him, so absolute it held me there, rooted, waiting for someone to speak the words I already felt in the silence."