The Lights of Bombay

The plot of this novel revolves around an ancient and very precious amulet belonging to Viceroy Almeida,one of Portugal’s best known Naval commander. In the year 1509, it comes into the possession of the Thambi family of South India via a singular twist of fate.The amulet has been an integral part of the family since then and they believe it brings them good luck. But little does Sanathan Thambi (later known as Itzhak), who goes to Germany for higher studies during the war,know the extreme hardships he'd have to endure in order to safeguard the amulet, which he took along with him as a good luck charm.The novel follows him through war torn Germany and the extreme risks he takes to save his ancestor's legacy from the prying hands of Otto, a Nazi sympathetist and Ramos, Itzhak’s Portuguese friend who works for the Nazi’s. Years after the war, Itzhak passes on the amulet to the newest member of the Thambi family as part of the tradition. Through a very unfortunate circumstance, the amulet is lost and Itzhak, who is in the twilight years of his life pitches in to save the Thambi family’s legacy yet again.The adventure brings him to Bombay and he finds himself racing against time to retrieve the amulet.But unknown to him the amulet is undertaking another perilous journey through the city.Prof. Kanth - the greedy archeologist, Sid and his friends - drug addicts wasting away their life, Kabir - the hotel supervisor,Kranti- the committed cop, Valery- the Ukranian business executive and Rahem- the bar dancer unwittingly become part of this journey. How the amulet shapes their lives and how does Itzhak and Rahem come together to try and save the amulet forms the thrilling climax of this novel. The novel, set against the backdrop of Bombay city and its frenetic pace of everyday life, renders a sense of reality to the otherwise fictitious story.The novel also throws light on the issue of illegal human trafficking and the underlying threats that dog the city, now and then but drives home the fact that the city does best what it is famous for – make lives!