Lodha Amit - Bihar Diaries: The True Story of How Bihars Most Dangerous Criminal Was Caught

What makes a tale truly gripping? It is a quandary that every storyteller has grappled with from time immemorial. Kurt Vonnegut, in fact, went on to graph the worlds most celebrated stories in order to understand this conundrum. One of the most popular themes, he stipulated, was Man in Hole, wherein the protagonist gets into trouble, then out of it and is thus better off for the experience. Bihar Diaries, Amit Lodhas engrossing thriller, is an impeccable example of this particular genre with the graph zigzagging magnificently all over the paper.

The author is an IPS officer and has been the recipient of various awards and commendations, including the Police Medal for Gallantry and the Internal Security Medal. He also happens to be a family friend, and I must add, an engaging conversationalist with innumerable intriguing anecdotes.

Amit pursued a career in civil services, but he has always been a writer at heart, from being the editor of his school magazine to writing for IIT publications and, recently, the Times of India.

Why didnt you write about your days in university? Then you would have also been a bestselling writer like Chetan Bhagat, I recall saying to him, knowing that they were both batchmates in IIT Delhi in the early nineties.

While Sameer Gehlaut, another batchmate, founded Indiabulls and Chetan penned Five Point Someone, Amit felt that his calling was to protect his fellow citizens and he joined the police force.

This journey eventually led him to moving to a dank guest house in Patna in the midst of massacres and mayhem. In the book, he calls it a very distressing experience. And he spent a large portion of his time disheartened and bemoaning the vagaries of fate. But luck, like Seneca said, is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity, and it was his time in Shekhpura that turned out to be a stroke of fortune, both in his chosen career and his vocation as it led him to this intricately detailed book.

When you read the story, you will find that it is vivid and atmospheric because the author has lived each moment, unlike the rest of us who have to often rely on second-hand research and our imaginations while writing from the safety of our armchairs.

This story following the Man in Hole model is as much about the author finding himself at the bottom of a chasm and climbing out, as it is about catching criminals. What I also found very interesting in the book was the role his wife played in hoisting him out of various situations with her astute advice. Well, though most will not admit it, alongside every successful man there is often a woman lending him parts of her multi-tasking brain.

Amit Lodhas absorbing account is soon going to be adapted into a motion picture, truly a triumph for any debut writer. The book does bring to mind another popular movie about a police officer based in Bihar. It starred a rather familiar gentleman and was called Rowdy Rathore. I would suggest that someone get hold of that tall actor and get him to do this chorpolice tale from the same region. Lets call the movie Lucky Lodha, and I have a feeling that we may just have another blockbuster on our hands.

Mumbai

Twinkle Khanna

June 2018