Children of Kali: Through India in Search of Bandits, the Thug Cult, and the British Raj

In this intricate, meandering and totally entertaining travelogue, the English journalist Kevin Rushby gives us a taste of criminality in modern India. Correctly starting from as far back as the English Raj's recognition and fight against the Thugs, he draws on memories of childhood readings, historical research, legends, modern fiction and present day interviews with criminals and policemen to paint a wide scenery of what criminality has matured to in the deeply ethical India. The book starts as a literary historical research into the Thug cult (ritual killers that strangled strangers with a silken scarf in honour of the goddess Kali), that became so fascinating for all the lovers of adventures from the 1830's to 1952 (when John Master's "The Deceivers" was written). For those out there that identify in this kind of literature remember "Gunga Din" (1937), Eugene Sue's Feringhea in the "Wandering Jew", "The Confession of a Thug" by Meadow's Taylor (famous literary success of 1839, still in press). To find information in India, our Author starts from Bollywood interviewing actors and writers of gangster movies and moves on to the search for Veerappan, India's most famous bandit, turned separatist on the Tamil Nadu-Karnata border. Here he doesn't manage to meet the outlaw but speaks with people that have been kidnapped and gains many hints on the evolution of banditry into political interest in the Tamil separatist movement. Our hero then travels north in what once was the most Thug infested area (Madhya Pradesh). Here he visits the vestiges of Sleeman's (the great eliminator of the Thug cult) memory that have been amazingly well preserved. He visits Hyderabad, Nagpur, crosses the Namada Rivers, always describing the beautiful peaceful life of rural India and the monuments of the past. Among the many encounters he meets a fascinating girl he calls Mandy, that seems to act like a puzzling inspiration for our traveller to open his mind to new and different outlooks on the country and its culture. At one point he reaches almost the conclusion that the definition of a Thug cult might have been one of the many examples of Orientalism (E. Said, the preconceived idea of attributing defects to the East) tainted by a preconception of inherited criminality (Lombroso docet). The quest continues to Sagar (where most of the Thugs were executed), then to the Chambal Ravines and Jalaun until a fried sets up an interview with a gangster turned into a social worker, that really embodies the connection between politics and criminality. From the world of Sleeman Rushby passes to that of Kali, their goddess, visiting the Sangam, the holy confluence of the Ganges, Jamuna and Sarawasti rivers. Here he sees the temple of Brindachul with its man-monkeys and reflects of the sense of the goddess who actually represents among other human necessities that of a superior justice, a power over right and wrong, the mystical yearnings and violence of the dispossessed. Varanasi

Kevin Rushby has traveled extensively, and has written about his journeys with insight and tremendous empathy for people he has met. Children of Kali concerns his search for knowledge on the current state of the thug cult (murderous worshippers of the goddess Kali), and for one charismatic and well-known thug in particular. But the book does not read like some sort of true-crime or investigative work; rather, it takes the form of a travelogue, where Rushby learns about the parts of India he travels through, the types of people he meets. As such, although it develops at a slower or more leisurely pace, the work is deep and rich, and the reader feels he has learned not so much about the cult of Kali as gained somewhat of a new perspective on life. It was not exactly the type of book I was expecting, but I came to very much enjoy reading it.

This book deals with some very interesting, yet somewhat disparate topics. Rushby's travelogue/history was apparently inspired by his learning of the British colonial administrator Sleeman, who allegedly eliminated the thuggees from India. He travels across India to investigate the thuggees, but somehow mixes them up with Indian bandits, gangsters, and assorted mischief-makers. His biggest problem is his tendency to write in a stream-of-conscious style that is confusing. He jumps around from different places, to different topics, switches between travelogue, history, and commentary, without effectively transitioning and explaining himself. At times he refers to phenomena, places and people without any explanation of who or what they are. With just a little better writing and editing, this could have earned five stars.

I was expecting a much darker(creepy?) book from what I had read of the excerpt from the synopsis given by the bookstore. It turned out to be a very humorous travel log by Kevin Rushby's search of the Thug Cult. There are many entertaining encounters with the people in India, great descriptions of the food there, atrocious hotel rooms, the hustle and bustle of a very populated country - all a very informative and highly entertaining look of a Brit with a wonderful sense of humor travelling through ancient India. If you enjoy cooking or travel essays, this book's a keeper.

Anybody interested in Modern India, I urge you to read "Children of Kali" by Kevin Rushby from several points of views: 1. How we get what we seek: Kevin went to India in search of thugs and decoits, while Maddy (a character in the book) went to India in quest of happiness. See what each one got, and how this simple concept of "we get what we seek" revealed to Kevin at Sangam. 2. Real history of modern times: The history of north and central India during East India company, Raj and after wee hours of independence is not taught to us, Indians in schools as it should be. Read how Kevin unearths it. 3. Travelogue: How we all have very similar experiences as Kevin had in India, except he logs it in a superb fashion. 4. Objectivity: If you are from India (a non-resident Indian, like me), see the places you grew up from an objective eye. Not necessarily an English eye, but an eye of a just seeker, Kevin that is! 5. Style: I absolutely love the modern style of story-telling that is weaved with real facts and ground-level research. Just to examine this aspect, the book is worth reading.