By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 17 Sep: The father-son writer duo of Aloke Lal and Maanas Lal has come out with another joint venture, titled ‘On the Trail of Thugs and Thieves’. The book is a gripping true account of crimes from Uttar Pradesh and opens the reader’s vista to the rural Hindi Heartland. What makes it different and more engaging than many other true accounts of crime is that it has been written with a humane perspective, which evokes a wide range of emotions in readers including a strong empathy with underprivileged society and even a sense of moral outrage among the readers. 
The stories are meticulously crafted. Despite being true accounts of crime, the authors’ use of wit, humour and sensitivity adds depth and emotion to the narratives. Aloke Lal has been a highly distinguished police officer and yet he does not shy away from exposing the inhumanity and gross injustices present in society, and also from pointing out where the police are at fault. The book is published by Om Books International.
The stories are meticulously crafted. Despite being true accounts of crime, the authors’ use of wit, humour and sensitivity adds depth and emotion to the narratives. Aloke Lal has been a highly distinguished police officer and yet he does not shy away from exposing the inhumanity and gross injustices present in society, and also from pointing out where the police are at fault. The book is published by Om Books International.
Aloke Lal is a decorated police officer who rose to the rank of Director General of Police in Uttarakhand, and an acclaimed artist, being a painter, poet, author, photographer and singer at the same time, besides being a gold medallist IITian. His son and similarly gifted Maanas Lal is a software engineer, a digital artist, a regular columnist, a writer and also a singer at the same time.The launch of their latest book, ‘On the Trail of Thugs and Thieves’, was organised at the Doon Library & Research Centre, here, on Saturday. On this occasion, the book was discussed by a panel consisting of journalist Ronjana Banerjee, educationist and social activist Bijoya Sawiyan and the author duo Aloke Lal and Maanas Lal. Deepanjali Singh gave the welcome address and introduced everyone on the panel to the audience, which comprised many distinguished retired civil servants, writers, educationists and book lovers of Dehradun.
Describing the book, Bijoya Sawiyan said it is much more than just a true account of crime incidents and their investigation from a police perspective. She added that, as a reader, the book opened up the entire Hindi Heartland before her and she journeyed to places she had never been to before. The book brings alive the lanes and bylanes of the Hindi Heartland, the bustling markets of the towns as well as the rural life of the villages. Sawiyan also noted that, very interestingly for her, the book is peppered with wit and humour. She noted that the book also has some musicality in its writing style, which she felt appears to be the contribution of young Maanas Lal. She further noted that the book is very meticulous in detail.Ronjana Banerjee opined that the book is not just an account of crime incidents, but a detailed description of Indian life. The book also brings alive the situation that prevailed during the period of the seventies in UP and exists even now, like extreme poverty, and how even relatively invaluable items get robbed or stolen from the poorest of the poor, too, which is so different from upmarket crimes that happen in places like Dehradun. She asserted that the book is a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Speaking about his journey as an author, Aloke Lal said that he never thought initially that he would become a regular writer apart from contributing some columns. However, for a long time before he decided to delve into book writing, he was told by many that he could write. After his retirement, he became convinced to explore writing books. One major trigger point was that his son and, now, his co-author, too, Maanas was able to find a publisher for his first book. The urge to write that existed in him suddenly came alive. Once one takes up the task, it becomes difficult to get away. Aloke Lal added that he is grateful to his family for his journey as an author. Describing the book, he said that fact is stranger than fiction at times.
In response to certain questions, he admitted that the policing system in India is a British legacy, which unfortunately was not reformed much after independence. He also admitted that the Police Force in India comprises good as well as bad officers, adding that he has never shied away from pointing out the faults of the police in his writings. He chooses not to defend the indefensible. He, however, further asserted that there is no dearth of good police officers in the country, who have empathy with the victims and the underprivileged and have helped them get justice by going out of the way.
Speaking about his journey as an author, Maanas Lal attributed his writing style and narration to his love for music. He said that he has always been drawn strongly to the written word and had been penning essays since his school days, which was followed by writing regular columns as well for various publications. Maanas added that he tries his best to put together his thoughts as a co-author and contribute. He felt grateful that his father and co-author had accepted his inputs. Maanas Lal stated that his partnership with his father in long form writing helps both of them deliver the prolific output which is present before everyone in the form of several books now.
In response to another question, he conceded that it is not an easy task to collaborate on writing and co-author books for any son with his father, but added that this collaboration has helped his relationship evolve with his father.
Later, the book was launched by students of several schools present on the occasion. Aloke Lal also announced that the proceeds of the book sale on this occasion would go to the victims of the train accident in Balasore, Odisha.
Nayantara Sahgal makes rare appearance
By Our Staff ReporterDehradun, 17 Sept: During the book launch on Saturday evening it was noticed that after a long gap people from all walks of life were present. Writer and eminent citizen of Doon, Nayantara Sahgal was not only present but she also asked the authors few questions during the interaction session of the function. Her daughter Gita was accompanying her.Aloke Lal was always people friendly from his pre-retirement days and his former colleagues Anil Raturi, Vikram Chandra Goel, NS Napalchyal, N Ravi Shankar, Anil Bahuguna, his wife Nitin Jugran and other eminent citizens of Doon such as Bobby Cash, Nadir Bilimoria, Dr Gaurav Luthra, Dr Rajendra Dobhal, film critic Sunita Vijay, Neelu Khanna, Pooja Khanna were also present amongst others.The audience comprised of readers from all walks of life and young students from Aasraa Trust, Udayan Shalini Trust and Purkal Youth Development Society.
