When Nazi history meets Hindu mythology

Nazi history. 2006 Germany FIFA World Cup. 7/11 Mumbai Blasts. Murky secrets which lie in Old Delhi. Could you ever imagine that these historical and seemingly disconnected elements could be woven together into a thriller? Well, author Mahendra Jakhar has done just that. “I’m quite proud of this book. Maybe for the first time in the history of storytelling that Hindu mythology and Nazi history have been brought together,” says Jakhar, who believes that the Nazi connect is the USP of the narrative, explaining his love for world news and history.

So, what’s the story about? “In Berlin, a murderer targets criminals, and after killing them, brands them with the Swastika (an emblem of the Nazi party in Germany). The day of each murder coincides with the Navagrahas (the days sacred to the nine planetary gods in Hindu mythology). Not just that, they also correspond to the horrors in Nazi history,” says Jakhar.

The plot then swivels to three friends in Old Delhi, who come together to seek the killer and what follows is a sequence of events, where the three race against time to save the then Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf. From Amsterdam, to Mumbai’s train blasts, from 26/11 to a glance of Taliban, each country is marked by the sinister bloody Swastika. He says, “With crime mystery as backdrop, the narrative ranges from history to mythology.” For the author, the touch of Old Delhi added a certain flavour to the story. “I love Old Delhi. The history of that place always fascinated me and I wanted the reader to visualise it in my story. From the chaos, the colours, the bazaars behind Jama Masjid, the red light areas to parathe wali gali, Old Delhi is a whole new world,” says Jhakar who was also the scriptwriter for the film, Manjhi—The Mountain Man, which starred Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

A still from the film, Manjhi— The Mountain Man