I first came upon the story of Muziris and its disappearance in Sethu’s novel ‘The Saga of Muziris’. Since then, this once-magnificent port town that sank without a trace has captivated me. So when I noticed Hamish Morjaria’s ‘The Curse of Muziris’ I wasted no time in reading it.
Spread a little over 400 pages, the story is bifurcated into 2 timelines and has 3 threads. The book begins in the first timeline, which is around 72 AD, the era of Muziris, where we are introduced to Jayesh and Nannan, who are burying something in a vault, wishing it never be found again due to the havoc it creates. The story then cuts to the present time where we have the other 2 threads of the story – one follows Harveen Gill, an accomplished archaeologist and her team who are on a dig in Pattanam, Kerala, where Muziris was supposed to have flourished. The second thread revolves around Don who is part of the Vatican’s secret intelligence service, Santa Alleanza. Harveen is racing to find as much as she can about Muziris, which includes certain truths that the Vatican does not want to be revealed to the world.
I liked how Morjaria has used Muziris as the anchor point and branched out to explore liminal points in history. Did Jesus have a twin brother named Thomas? Does the Ark of the Covenant really exist? Morjaria breathes life into stories that continue to be furiously debated by archaeologists and historians alike, and takes us on a very vividly imagined journey into the past. I thoroughly enjoyed the setting, and the recreation of real characters blended seamlessly with fictional ones that made Muziris come alive. Being a history buff myself I could see that Morjaria has done his research carefully and read widely to tie in multiple elements, ancient settings, and timelines in history so that they merge into one well-connected story.
And then, there were these aspects that I wish he had paid a little more attention to. I see an almost boyish adoration of Lara Croft (she is even mentioned in the book) and Indiana Jones whose influences are unmistakable in various places. For example, Harveen is a cliched representation of archaeologists straight from the movies with her shorts and khakis and boots. We know bits and parts of some characters but nothing about others. And the little we know seems fragmented and they don’t add much to the story. Don is perhaps the most realistic character of all with some layers to his thoughts and persona. Character building, the experience the key archaeologists claim to have, their individual stories, and some other aspects leave a lot to be desired.
That said, it’s the real history and the pace of the story that kept me flipping the pages, eager to know what’s next. Undoubtedly, the writing and story both come into their own in the last 100 pages or so. Here’s where it appears as if Morjaria gave his writing the most attention, building up the tension, taking us towards the much-awaited conclusion. For a debut novel, the overall effect was impressive.
Recommended for a thrilling read and for those who love history’s mysteries.
