Trapped in the egregious and corruption-led domestic politics of India, a common man is not allowed to transcend the mighty gates of the Parliament and know more about the root causes of his/her deprivation. Why do government policies seem superficial? Why the change in parties at the centre does does not translate into concrete changes in the political scenario? For how long will a common man suffer from the trepidation of injustice and malice, in spite of voting? Has our democracy failed? All these questions demand one to delve deeper into the internal mayhem that is prevalent in today’s democracy in India.
So, taking this journey forward and trying to endow an insight into the real face of power-politics, Kota Neelima’s recent book ‘The Honest Season’ tries to empower us from the intellectual and physical morass that we find ourselves in.
The story of a protagonist-cum-journalist Mira Mouli who is bestowed with the gifted intuitive powers to predict the future witnesses a dramatic twist when a political heir of the leading party Sikander Bansi goes into hiding. The only way to discover his whereabouts is by publishing the leaked tapes that he keeps sending Mouli’s newspaper, which discloses the hideous and astonishing details of what happens behind the closed doors of the Parliament. The tapes explain how agriculture deals are conducted in the country, how communal riots are engineered by the government, how business houses lead to the division of states and the obnoxious realities behind the emergence of revolutionary parties that aim to fight corruption but are rather strangled within the system.
Inspired from the real-life political situation and gimmick taking place in India, The Honest Season tries to reveal how difficult it is for an honest journalism to independently opine his/her narrative and the challenges that are associated with it. It touches upon the life of thousands of single-women living in the metros of India, the fears that they face and how vulnerable and precarious their life is. It talks about the ignominy of being an orphan and how difficult it is, with our current political scenario to actually make a substantial change in the lives of common men and women.
It talks about the trepidation that a farmer has to undergo, who is debt-ridden and has no chance but to commit suicide at a political rally, just so that at least his death is able to garner some attention, some sensitivity. But alas, it does not. It talks about communal hatred spread by political parties and how innocent civilians fall prey to Hindu-Muslim violence, without even harboring any form of altercation towards each other. But rather, they become, unconsciously, the puppets of the power propaganda and turn against each other, without any baggage of previous hatred. It also reveals how industrialists and business houses play a pivotal role in the division of states, irrespective of the fact, whether or not, the common man wants it, because all of his voice is trespassed, often being given just a deaf year.
So, in a nutshell, the Honest Season is an eye-opening book, which is related to the actual events that have occurred in the past of India, and how they were not interpreted rightly, because the common man does not have the understanding of the power-play that is actually set into motion. Unbelievable, yet true, the book is going to linger in your mind for a long time as you reach out and understand its real life connection with Indian politics.