The Case of the Love Commandos (Vish Puri 4)

Author/Guide: Tarquin Hall

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: Vish Puri is India’s Poirot and he’s one of our favourite guides to the city of Delhi. Here he travels further afield to Agra and Lucknow in Pakistan

ISBN: 978-0091937423
Genre: Crime, Humour

Comment

What you need to know before your trail

Vish Puri is on the trail of a missing student. Not just your average missing persons case however since they have disappeared from a group known as the Love Commandos, who were set up to help people from different castes marry.

With this level of complexity and intrigue he has to travel further afield to really investigate more about the circumstances behind the girls disappearance.

Locations

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Pakistan
A: Agra - the university of Agra

Travel Guide

The most intriguing premise of this book is the depiction of the Love Commandos which we were surprised and intrigued to find out that they really do exist.

If you take a look on the Vish Puri website – there is a really heartwarming story of this group – The Love Commandos – and what they do which really opened our eyes. It also gives a whole new slant to the book when you know a little bit about them.

Modern India and old

The side of India that really come to the fore here is the difference between modern India and the more traditional one. Nintendos being used during the climb up a sacred mountain!? Oh dear now that is a sign of the two sides to the county and one which is very revealing.

The Trikuta mountain to the shrine of Vaishno Devi

It’s the pilgrimage up the mountain – the Trikuta mountain to the shrine of Vaishno Devi which is one of the biggest Hindu pilgrimages in India – that really caught our attention. The Puri family go there to worship the mother goddess and they join the many ‘yatris’ or pilgrims on the way up there.

Many wore red and gold bandanas, and as they set off for the entrance to the mountain—youngsters raised aloft on shoulders, elderly uncles and aunties striding forth with walking sticks—euphoric cries of “Maan aap bu- landi!” (“The Mother herself calls!”) echoed along the narrow street leading to the mountain pathway.

Vish Puri is as always an excellent guide to the culture, humour and criminal investigations within India.