ABOUT A CAPITAL'S DIGNITY

A conversation with Sudeep Chakravarti who has been awarded the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman for Best Non-fiction for Fallen City: A Double Murder, Political Insanity and Delhi's Descent from Grace, a work that combines forensic reporting with moral urgency

- SONU M KOTHARI

IT was a regular Friday evening in Delhi. Two teenage siblings stepped out of their home — the only closed space that promised safety and freedom — in a city where crime lurked at most corners. With each tiny step they took, 17-year-old Geeta Chopra, a melomaniac, was growing closer to the musical journey that defined her world. Accompanying her was a tall boy, 15-year-old Sanjay Chopra. But their journey ended that day as the Chopra siblings were abducted and murdered.

This crime, committed on Saturday, August 26, 1978, shook not only Delhi, where it happened, but the entire country. From police navigating a web of investigation to the Parliament forming laws, which would set a precedent for safety and protection laws of the nation, Sudeep Chakravarti’s narrative nonfiction, Fallen City: A Double Murder, Political Insanity and Delhi's Descent from Grace (Aleph) traces the events of the evening to the execution of the convicts, while the capital was facing consequences of personal political gains. The book won the Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman in the Non-Fiction category on January 2. The award included a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, a citation, and a trophy. Excerpts from a conversation with the author:

Why did the rape and murder of two children catch your interest for a book?

Geeta and Sanjay Chopra’s murder was horrific. Two people — Billa and Ranga — who were executed for it have become bywords in villainy in India. In fact, Billa and Ranga are used as descriptions of evil people to this day.