Shriram Iyer’s ‘Let Me Go’ clings to honesty and loyalty
Venkat Raman –
Writing a book is always a challenge, especially if it is not the main profession of the author but a young man across the Tasman has been showing the hallmarks of a successful novelist over the past three years.
Melbourne based Shriram Iyer, who New Zealanders would remember as a good singer rendering religious, classical and film songs, has done it again with the release of his second book titled, ‘Let Me Go.’
I have not yet read the book (as I await a copy) but from the synopsis appearing on its cover and the note sent by Shriram are indicative of its relevance to the current global debate on the desirability or otherwise of permitting people terminally ill people to switch off from this world. The subject is as much emotional as it indeed is controversial but if you have seen ‘Whose Life is it Anyway?’ a 1981 film starring Richard Dreyfuss, you would get the idea, and place yourself in a dilemma.
Cruel fate
‘Let me Go’ is the story of Indira Kelkar, a free-spirited and rebellious woman who would, at the first sight, appear to be the ideal woman of the world. She has doting parents, a great friend (Anshuman Kale) a man of her dreams (Kapil Chauhan).
Did someone say fate can be cruel? They must have meant Indira, for the much-loved woman is trapped in a hospital bed, desperate to get out and end it all.
As Shriram says, she suffers from the ‘locked-in syndrome’ with a euthanasia appeal.
“After Kapil walks into her life, things quickly spiral out of control. Following the sudden death of her father, Indira is entwined in Kapil’s dangerous and intriguing world of drugs and alcohol and becomes a victim to his abuse. One thing leads to another and a pregnant Indira meets with a car accident where she loses everything close to her. Kapil and their unborn baby die in the crash and she slips into a locked-in state, a conscious coma. She then tries to battle locked-in syndrome, having lost all motor function and is able to communicate only with her eyes. She can see and hear the world interact with her, but cannot give anything back.”
Twists and turns
What happens to Anshuman? How does he cope with an increasingly difficult situation, holding off his plans overseas and the ambitions of his fiancé?
He becomes a storyteller, oblivious to the untoward events that occurred in Indira’s life.
Says Shriram, “Indira is able to smile for the first time in six years, just the way Anshuman had described the beginning of her recovery in fiction, leaving the reader to interpret if his novel turns out to be prophetic.”
The main themes of the book revolve around Loyalty, Hope and Friendship.
We had reviewed Shriram’s first book, ‘Wings of Silence’ in our September 1, 2012 issue, saying that it was the sort of book that keeps you occupied from the prologue to epilogue, with its fast-paced narration of the goings-on in an ordinary family of two siblings of extraordinary contradictions.
Novelist prowess
“If you resist the temptation of reading the synopsis, you would find it unputdownable.”
‘Let me Go’ may reinforce the young man’s prowess as a novelist.
He is the book’s publisher as well, since such a role would allow him to interact directly with his readers and enable him to be more nimble than a large publisher.
Purchase process
The digital version (eBook) has been available on www.gumroad.com while Shriram works out the details of a paperback version.
The Book can be purchased on www.amazon.com or directly from the author (shriram2.iyer2@gmail.com)
Shriram said that he is already working on his third book, which would be a fictional version of India’s great epic, ‘The Mahabharata.’
Photo :
Shriram Iyer
