Half Tibetan-half English author Chhimi Tenduf-la has been residing in Sri Lanka for about three decades. In his new novel, A Hiding to Nothing (Hachette India), a domestic thriller, a Sri Lankan family’s world is torn apart when their child, Devin Pinto, goes missing. He’s been kidnapped from his parent’s car in their absence, but the kidnappers have left no clues, nor have they made any demands. Devin’s mother Neja is desperate to get in touch with Johnny Dias, the swimming coach, who could possibly have some knowledge. Meanwhile, the father Ramesh and his mother Loku Madam insist on keeping it all under wraps, to avoid any gossip among the elite circles of Colombo.
The novel switches between the past (years between 2015 and 2018) and the present (2024 and 2025). This helps readers get a sense of Neja and Ramesh’s life before their marriage and soon after, as they try for a baby. It also introduces us to characters who play an important role at the time. Some of them turn into suspects now when Devin is gone. The chapters also alternate between different locations. We learn that Ramesh and Neja stayed in England under the alias of Ravi and Nita, to hide their identity from the surrogate mother. In several small, subtle ways, Tenduf-la raises questions of identity and migration, with many characters living in England as illegal immigrants.
More central, though, is the question of motherhood. We follow the point of view of the protagonist Neja, who does all she can to be a mother. However, the narrative lacks a truly likeable character, including Neja. The writing could do with a little more sharpness to keep the plot tight; some unnecessary details and sequence of events slow down the narrative. Having said that, it is a mystery worth checking out, as it gives a glimpse of the way power operates in a South Asian society — what one has to conceal, how much one can reveal, and what power can sometimes compel you to do.
TITLE: A Hiding to Nothing
AUTHOR: Chhimi Tenduf-la
GENRE: Fiction
Publisher: Hachette India
Cost: Rs 599
