The Case of the Mysterious Witches

What a powerful, important book!

I haven’t read the first two M4 mysteries, but I have read–and admired–some of Mallika Ravikumar’s other work. My first was the award-winning The District Cup, which I loved. More recently, I read The Battle for Baramulla, and I commented on how meticulously researched it is.

That’s what makes The Case of the Mysterious Witches stand out too. Detailed, eye-opening and hard-hitting, it is a pacy, gripping read that makes the reader stop and think.

The Case of the Mysterious Witches begins with the discovery of a woman being chased and beaten by an angry mob. Aghast, the M4–three children and a dog–race to her rescue. Soon, however, they are enmeshed in a larger social problem, one that deals with daakins and chudails, witches and evil spirits. Through the lens of caste and gender, the author examines the branding of women as witches and hints at the number of women killed in witch hunts even today.

The facts are startling, but what I appreciate about the book is its nuance. The fictional story is part of a larger social fabric that we ignore, or are blissfully ignorant of. Mirchi–one of the M4–is the most aware of superstition and the way fear of the unknown pushes people to act. Through his eyes, we see one side of the story. We look at why mobs react in certain ways. But again, through him, we are brought face to face with the caste angle. Is the root of the problem the fact that a Dalit dares to rise in society?

The Case of the Mysterious Witches gives us a glimpse of something horrific, something that exists alongside our rational, scientific view of the world. Gently, Mallika Ravikumar asks the most important questions. When we follow along with a ritual asking Where is the harm?, do we perpetuate blind belief that causes more harm than we can imagine? When we look at cases in isolation, can we bring justice to the world? What exactly goes on behind the mask of secularism that self-proclaimed men of god wear?

Even though the book perpetuates the stereotype of urban kids being superheroes that come to the rescue of villagers who don’t know better, The Case of the Mysterious Witches remains an important read. It makes the reader uncomfortable, and it is in this discomfort that the power of the story lies.