Good ultimately triumphs over evil. But what if it doesn?t, or has co-opted the majority along the way? In an age where the virtues of positive thinking and ignoring any signs to the contrary are almost the only option, here is an alternate view. Lie: A Traditional Tale of Modern India is as bleak as they come. It?s a parable of a land that has lost its way, of its citizens who are trapped in a system with escape routes cut off.
Lie is also different. To start with, it is a graphic novel, a genre in which dark is usually associated with forces of the night with superhuman powers rather than politically loaded tales of cynicism or despair. Its graphic artistes are not some young dudes doing their cool stuff, but three traditional miniaturists from Rajasthan?Shankar Lal Bhopa, Birju Lal and Ghansham. ?They were the only ones who agreed to illustrate what we wanted instead of the usual images they do,? says Gautam Bhatia. The miniature form was chosen, explains Bhatia, as it can cram considerable amounts of information in small spaces and what is unsaid in words could come through as ?there is no space for silence in the visual medium?. The book, in fact, started by being part of a larger project called Desh Ki Awaz and the plan was for a 600-page An Indian Story but was finally whittled down the present 180 pages. The book went through several stages as each illustration had to be discussed, not an easy project. The result is a traditional looking vividly coloured manuscript with the colours of Rajasthan seeping in.
But that?s where the pleasantries end. This is an uncompromising look at where India?s pitfalls are. And to do this, the book uses exaggeration as its chief tool. The story is set in Patna and Delhi and the two main narrators of the story ?Bhola the politician and Alibaba the peasant?are placed at the opposite ends of the political spectrum. The support cast includes Rekha?the prime minister? a sex worker and an ISI agent elected on a Congress (R) ticket. It also includes Sati Mishra, CEO, Adultrex India. With 1,500 branches nationally, it is the largest supplier of adulterated foodstuffs in India, including ?infected seed to farmers in Bihar, genetically modified corn meal as fodder in Punjab, milk diluted with kerosene in Madhya Pradesh, sugar mixed with broken glass in Rajasthan. And many other day-to-day household eatables…Satiji was a man of the people?. His equally impressive wife Sati, is a serial killer of her granddaughters.
Lie?s story is a sort of truth telling mirror for contemporary India, weaving together strands from what is happening in real life around us. From pervasive corruption to rampant gender disparity, open communalism to blatant greed, dowry demands and deaths, insensitive child labour, degraded forests, delinquent leaders?this is not a book for the faint hearted. Reading may lead to the immediate smile or even a laugh, but the conflicts are unfortunately all too real and too around us, on reflection.
The text is episodic, cutting to the various parallel tales jerkily, reflecting India?s current uneven social terrain. It would be difficult not to identity some of the characters with real life politicians. And their actions, despite the exaggerations, disgust. ?They are supposed to gross you out,? says Bhatia. And the way out is unclear, though the common man, if not co-opted by the middle class, seems to be the only hope for India.