PHOTOGRAPH BY ANAND GOGOI, HAIR & MAKE-UP BY ROLIKA PRAKASH
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n Amitav Ghosh’s new climate
fiction, Gun Island (p 120), the
narrator’s friend Cinta posits that the
world today seems to be in the grip of a
“demonic possession”. Finding him
astonished, she explains, “Just look
around you ... everybody knows what
must be done if the world is to continue
to be a liveable place ... and yet we are
powerless ... We go about our daily
business ... as though we were in the
grip of forces that have overwhelmed
our will; we see shocking and
monstrous things ... and we avert
our eyes; we surrender ourselves
willingly to whatever it is that has
us in its power.” Rationalists will
recoil at the idea, but, admit-
tedly, the collective impas-
sivity—indeed denial—o f
humans towards the climate
crisis will remain an unsolved
mystery of our times.
Another phenomenon
that’s impossible to
fathom is how large
swathes of people,
globally, have been
convinced to act
against theirvery own interests, voting in fascist, au-
thoritarian regimes, handing over their
freedoms and choosing to remain
trapped in deprivation and poverty.
Goopi and Bagha, characters from
Satyajit Ray’s fantasy films, discovered
a brainwashing machine that a diaboli-
cal king used to silence his people.
Will we ever unravel the greatest
conundrum of our times?
This month’s cover story is ‘Unsolved
Mysteries’ (p 52) and is a super
engaging read. Also, do read the inspi-
rational My Story (p 74), ‘Freedom,
She Ruled’ (p 90) and the thrilling
story of how a couple were saved by
social media (p 80). The monsoons
have arrived—let’s soak it in, with
RD and a cup of tea!PS: Thank you for all your
wonderful feedback on
our makeover. We really
appreciate them!DEAR READER
Sanghamitra Chakraborty
editorAbiding
Mysteries
ReadeRsdigest.co.in 13