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Ritual
Calcutta is in political turmoil and it is turning violent. It is also home to Vasant Sena, a religious cult with a charismatic leader and militant devotees, engaged in drug-fuelled sex rituals. As bodies of girls, their hearts cut of their chests, start appearing all over Calcutta, ACP Ashutosh and his deputy Pradeep are assigned the case. Soon, they find themselves spiralling into a mesh of double faces and blind alleys, even as the machinery of the state and the police turn against them. Can they catch the killer before the killer catches them?
272 pages, Paperback
Published February 18, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 24, 2022
1.5/5
An --- interesting read :')
Rushed ending.
Paper thin characters that needed more fleshing out.
Too indulgent in its political explorations.
Falls short of its potential (Pity, because it had some)
Trump that with cartoonish antagonists, and some gaping logic holes.
And you'll get Ritual.
Still find the cover enticing though.
Pity, indeed.
An --- interesting read :')
Rushed ending.
Paper thin characters that needed more fleshing out.
Too indulgent in its political explorations.
Falls short of its potential (Pity, because it had some)
Trump that with cartoonish antagonists, and some gaping logic holes.
And you'll get Ritual.
Still find the cover enticing though.
Pity, indeed.
May 5, 2020
A twelve year old young girl was dumped in a garbage bin. On postmortem, it was found that the heart of the girl was surgically cut out of her chest. Similar such bodies of young girls started turning up every now and then in the streets of Calcutta, each of their hearts missing. Uttaran Das Gupta, in his book ‘Ritual’unfolds the extent to which religious fanaticism can drag people into the dark alley of superstition, mayhem and cultural obsession.
Calcutta is also home to a group of religious fanatics named Vasant Sena. These religious cults worship a charismatic leader who they believe can achieve immortality following some illusory ‘ritual‘. When ACP Ashutosh and his deputy Pradeep were assigned the case to follow the horrific murder of young girls, they unearth a series of facts and events. They feel the ground slipping off their feet as they started unfolding the connection of the murders with the Vasant Sena group. What happens next will take you by surprise.
My views– Amazing and a very realistic plotline. We are very familiar with such situations where religious fanaticism makes people blindly follow horrendous rituals. Putting it all in a book so well, certainly deserves appreciation. I wasn’t really expecting much of political scenario here. I thought the book was more about murder mysteries but to be honest, the book did not disappoint me at all. It is a fantastic crossover of thriller and political fiction.
The author did not rush through the plot. He took time building the storyline and did a commendable job there. I however, could not relate to the protagonist much. At times, the twists were predictable yet enjoyable. I loved how the whole story unfolded. The language is lucid, easily understandable to anyone. I would definitely give it a thumbs up and urge you all to give it a read as well.
Calcutta is also home to a group of religious fanatics named Vasant Sena. These religious cults worship a charismatic leader who they believe can achieve immortality following some illusory ‘ritual‘. When ACP Ashutosh and his deputy Pradeep were assigned the case to follow the horrific murder of young girls, they unearth a series of facts and events. They feel the ground slipping off their feet as they started unfolding the connection of the murders with the Vasant Sena group. What happens next will take you by surprise.
My views– Amazing and a very realistic plotline. We are very familiar with such situations where religious fanaticism makes people blindly follow horrendous rituals. Putting it all in a book so well, certainly deserves appreciation. I wasn’t really expecting much of political scenario here. I thought the book was more about murder mysteries but to be honest, the book did not disappoint me at all. It is a fantastic crossover of thriller and political fiction.
The author did not rush through the plot. He took time building the storyline and did a commendable job there. I however, could not relate to the protagonist much. At times, the twists were predictable yet enjoyable. I loved how the whole story unfolded. The language is lucid, easily understandable to anyone. I would definitely give it a thumbs up and urge you all to give it a read as well.
July 24, 2020
The book opens in Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal. A twelve year old girl is found murdered. The post mortem report reveals a bizarre fact: her body is missing a part, her HEART. Soon enough, many such bodies turn up in Calcutta, leaving the police department in a frenzy. Calcutta is also home to a religious cult called Vasant Sena. They believe that their leader can attain 'immortality' by an awful ritual. The cult is followed by one and all and all over the world.
ACP Ashutosh and his deputy Pradeep are assigned the case of the murdered girls. As they start investigating, many buried skeletons come to life and leave them appalled. They find them stuck in a spiral that is beyond them.
I wasn't expecting much from this one, but it didn't disappoint me. The book started a little slow, but quickly picked up the pace and was unputdownable. ACP Ashutosh, our protagonist, comes off as a stern police officer, waiting to catch the killer. His sidekick, who later turns out to be quite useful, was a little off-putting in the beginning. As the story builds up, we meet some fascinating characters that take the story forward. A foreign journalist looking for secrets about the cult, an old affair that rekindles, a political issue, everything together supported the story entirely.
It's almost bizarre to think what people can do when they blindly believe in something, how superstitions can drive us to a path from where there is no going back, how cults follow religious sacrifices. It is alarming.
The build-up to the climax was pretty much fantastic. However, I still wish what happened didn't happen (No spoilers ). You gotta read the book to figure out what I mean.
ACP Ashutosh and his deputy Pradeep are assigned the case of the murdered girls. As they start investigating, many buried skeletons come to life and leave them appalled. They find them stuck in a spiral that is beyond them.
I wasn't expecting much from this one, but it didn't disappoint me. The book started a little slow, but quickly picked up the pace and was unputdownable. ACP Ashutosh, our protagonist, comes off as a stern police officer, waiting to catch the killer. His sidekick, who later turns out to be quite useful, was a little off-putting in the beginning. As the story builds up, we meet some fascinating characters that take the story forward. A foreign journalist looking for secrets about the cult, an old affair that rekindles, a political issue, everything together supported the story entirely.
It's almost bizarre to think what people can do when they blindly believe in something, how superstitions can drive us to a path from where there is no going back, how cults follow religious sacrifices. It is alarming.
The build-up to the climax was pretty much fantastic. However, I still wish what happened didn't happen (No spoilers ). You gotta read the book to figure out what I mean.
August 16, 2020
Set in the year 1989, the story focuses on the political turmoil and police investigations that take place when a murder occurs in the "City of Joy", Calcutta. At the very onset when we discover a body of girl lying in bush or in a pond, the first thing that comes to mind is physical torture. But how does the investigation takes place when it is found that the heart is missing from the body and it was surgically removed. the story begins when a body of a girl is found in Hindustan Park, Kolkata by kids who were playing cricket. After initial post mortem and conduction of regular police investigations, the file starts collecting dust. Similar happens even after two more bodies turns up with surgically removed heart. On request of the director of NGO "Pratham Prakash", ACP Asutosh and his subordinate Pradip starts investigating the case. Initially it was assumed that it was a case of organ trafficking and following multiple organ traffickers were arrested. But the body count refuses to stop. While their investigation they stumble upon a cult named Vasant Sena that has grown its roots in every corner of the country as well as the globe. Various activities of this cult starts coming to light starting from attacking the Dalits in Bihar to organizing mass suicide in New Zealand. During investigation we also get a glimpse of the ordeal of a daily labour who has escaped their attack and how he was able to escape to Calcutta. Various ordeals of the religious cults and self declared god men have also been brought in focus. The investigation hits multiple roadblocks before seeing the light of the day. In the end the question looms, what purpose did the little hearts served a) Was it sold in black market? b)was it used for any ritual?. The story is divided into three parts. The first part speaks about the reason for the investigation i.e. the turning up of dead bodies. The second part focuses on the ongoing investigation and the third part focuses on the turns in investigation. The life of each and every characters have been beautifully crafted and detailed. One thing that sets the book unique is its pace and narration. The author has reminded the reader time and again that its a first person narration. With this I like to conclude that the book in so thrilling that I had to complete the book at a single go.
Rating: 4.5/5
Rating: 4.5/5
April 17, 2020
3.5/5
As bodies of girls, their hearts surgically removed from their body, start appearing all over Calcutta, ACP Ashutosh and his deputy Pradeep are assigned the case. But this is not as simple as it seems. A religious cult Vasant Sena is at the center of all this murders. But what is the motive? How will Ashutosh and Pradeep be able to catch the mastermind when friends turns foe and almost everyone stands against you.
Review-
The story is set in 1989 in Calcutta. Though I have not visited the city but author captures the vintage vibe and the description of the old city almost impeccable.
I really like how author has told the whole story from the perspective of Pradeep making him a very ordinary policeman but he being the most important part in solving the case. Pradeep is the actual hero being always on the sideline.
The plot is very predictable you can guess the culprit from the start but the writing is so good it keeps you hooked till the end. And at no point you will be disinterested in the story.
There is no cliche police action scenes but only pure investigation. There is a small part related to their personal lives and it is bang on. It shows another layer of the characters.
Calcutta is also an important part of the story. It is not just shown as a place of crime but their tradition, culture and politics very much becomes an essential part of the book. But describing the history of each and every place and surrounding is a little too much.
The religious conflict is shown very sensitively and to most of the parts I could really relate because it happens all over India. This proves that author has done an impressive research on all the fields related to this book.
This book is not based on who done it but more on what next. And this makes it distinctive and unique from other crime thrillers. If you want to try something new in Indian crime thriller I would highly recommend this book.
As bodies of girls, their hearts surgically removed from their body, start appearing all over Calcutta, ACP Ashutosh and his deputy Pradeep are assigned the case. But this is not as simple as it seems. A religious cult Vasant Sena is at the center of all this murders. But what is the motive? How will Ashutosh and Pradeep be able to catch the mastermind when friends turns foe and almost everyone stands against you.
Review-
The story is set in 1989 in Calcutta. Though I have not visited the city but author captures the vintage vibe and the description of the old city almost impeccable.
I really like how author has told the whole story from the perspective of Pradeep making him a very ordinary policeman but he being the most important part in solving the case. Pradeep is the actual hero being always on the sideline.
The plot is very predictable you can guess the culprit from the start but the writing is so good it keeps you hooked till the end. And at no point you will be disinterested in the story.
There is no cliche police action scenes but only pure investigation. There is a small part related to their personal lives and it is bang on. It shows another layer of the characters.
Calcutta is also an important part of the story. It is not just shown as a place of crime but their tradition, culture and politics very much becomes an essential part of the book. But describing the history of each and every place and surrounding is a little too much.
The religious conflict is shown very sensitively and to most of the parts I could really relate because it happens all over India. This proves that author has done an impressive research on all the fields related to this book.
This book is not based on who done it but more on what next. And this makes it distinctive and unique from other crime thrillers. If you want to try something new in Indian crime thriller I would highly recommend this book.
April 7, 2022
Recommends it for: Beginner to thriller books.
Well, this is not too bad if the writer is 17. (Oh, he is not?) Give him another twenty years of writing experience, and he should be really good.
The beginning is pretty decent, but after that I grew increasingly bored. There is little to none character development. I wanted to be in love with this book. It was too dumb, so I couldn't. I gave it an extra star for the beginning that was good.
Well, this is not too bad if the writer is 17. (Oh, he is not?) Give him another twenty years of writing experience, and he should be really good.
The beginning is pretty decent, but after that I grew increasingly bored. There is little to none character development. I wanted to be in love with this book. It was too dumb, so I couldn't. I gave it an extra star for the beginning that was good.
April 5, 2022
The story isn't very original !!
Overall it was an okay book that was able to slightly grasp my attention.Two stars feels generous for this trashy historical novel.
Warning⚠ when you buy this book make sure to buy aspirin too!!
Overall it was an okay book that was able to slightly grasp my attention.Two stars feels generous for this trashy historical novel.
Warning⚠ when you buy this book make sure to buy aspirin too!!
February 27, 2020
The late 1980s in Calcutta. A young girl is found murdered, and during postmortem, it’s discovered that her heart has been removed.
That is just the start. As the months pass, the cases pile up: schoolgirls, murdered and with their hearts gone. ACP Ashutosh and his junior, the narrator Pradip Batabayal, begin investigating, and unearth a series of facts and people that stretch from Auckland to Kashmir, from the Naxalite Movement to a religious cult with some pretty risqué practices.
Uttaran Das Gupta uses the junior police officer as narrator in a flashback style: Batabayal looks back on the case from a point in the future, recalling what happened, recounting some things he only knew of secondhand, and conjecturing about others. What builds up is a narrative that’s part first person, part third person. I found the story seeming fairly straightforward till close to the end, at which point there was a sudden and interesting twist which I hadn’t seen coming.
This isn’t really a police procedural, even though both the protagonists are cops and on duty. It’s more like the standard detective novel, with the two cops functioning more like private detectives—doing the work on their own, not using the heavyweight machinery of the force to help them along. Of course, this being Calcutta, the ‘the force’ is hampered by corruption, so perhaps our heroes have little choice…
… And the corruption is all over. Ritual is classic noir: sleazy, seamy, unpalatable. There is grinding poverty here, filth, a complete disconnect between people and their consciences. There are mentions of Satyajit Ray’s cinema and of the ghats along the Hooghly, but those are the exceptions, the rare instances of beauty in a city that comes vividly and frighteningly alive here.
I have been to Calcutta several times, and it’s a city I’ve always associated with beauty, living up to its epithet of the ‘City of Joy’. I think of Calcutta, and I think of fabulous food, Rabindrasangeet, some of the greatest film makers not just india but the world has seen. I think of colonial architecture, and a cultural heritage that is hard to beat. With Ritual, Das Gupta shows a side of Calcutta—a savage, heartless (pun intended) side—that often stays unnoticed. This book changed my perception of Cal. It shattered some illusions, but still… a good book, all said and done.
That is just the start. As the months pass, the cases pile up: schoolgirls, murdered and with their hearts gone. ACP Ashutosh and his junior, the narrator Pradip Batabayal, begin investigating, and unearth a series of facts and people that stretch from Auckland to Kashmir, from the Naxalite Movement to a religious cult with some pretty risqué practices.
Uttaran Das Gupta uses the junior police officer as narrator in a flashback style: Batabayal looks back on the case from a point in the future, recalling what happened, recounting some things he only knew of secondhand, and conjecturing about others. What builds up is a narrative that’s part first person, part third person. I found the story seeming fairly straightforward till close to the end, at which point there was a sudden and interesting twist which I hadn’t seen coming.
This isn’t really a police procedural, even though both the protagonists are cops and on duty. It’s more like the standard detective novel, with the two cops functioning more like private detectives—doing the work on their own, not using the heavyweight machinery of the force to help them along. Of course, this being Calcutta, the ‘the force’ is hampered by corruption, so perhaps our heroes have little choice…
… And the corruption is all over. Ritual is classic noir: sleazy, seamy, unpalatable. There is grinding poverty here, filth, a complete disconnect between people and their consciences. There are mentions of Satyajit Ray’s cinema and of the ghats along the Hooghly, but those are the exceptions, the rare instances of beauty in a city that comes vividly and frighteningly alive here.
I have been to Calcutta several times, and it’s a city I’ve always associated with beauty, living up to its epithet of the ‘City of Joy’. I think of Calcutta, and I think of fabulous food, Rabindrasangeet, some of the greatest film makers not just india but the world has seen. I think of colonial architecture, and a cultural heritage that is hard to beat. With Ritual, Das Gupta shows a side of Calcutta—a savage, heartless (pun intended) side—that often stays unnoticed. This book changed my perception of Cal. It shattered some illusions, but still… a good book, all said and done.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews