Grabber – Review

Title: Grabber

Authors: Nirmal Pulickal & Jehan Zachary

Publisher: Puffin / Penguin, 2023

Pages: 208

One of the characters in this novel says that spirits abound all around us according to the Indian tradition. They are not all evil. Most of them are quite harmless. Some are just trapped between two planes of existence like travellers passing through. Some of them may try to get our attention because they need human intervention to help them finish some incomplete tasks here on earth; they can get their eternal rest only after completing the tasks.

This novel is about some of those spirits who have a task to complete here on earth. They are the spirits of those people who constructed the Taj Mahal. Qasim, the chief architect, and 31 builders, sculptors and calligraphers had their hands chopped off by Shah Jahan, according to a myth. The author reminds us at the end of the novel that this story is not factual. He has merely used the story for the sake of the novel.

In this novel, there are two Taj Mahals. One is the real, historical Taj that we all know. The other is an identical one on the opposite bank of the Yamuna facing the mausoleum that houses the tombs of the emperor and his beloved wife. The second one is Black Taj; it is built with some mysterious black stones by some mysterious people from the deserts of Siberia. The workers were very fair in complexion but the local people called them Black Builders. These mysterious workers worked without wages.

To quote the novel: “Now in every way, the mysterious Black Taj was the polar opposite of the resplendent White Taj. While the Taj was glorious and celestial, the Black Taj was brooding and grim. It had an air of unease surrounding it. Then began the superstitions. People who spent time near it started developing mysterious illnesses. Some say they grew scales on their skin, like snakes.”

Snakes play a very important role in this novel. The 64 hands that Shah Jahan got chopped were buried in the Black Taj and they metamorphosed into snakes with palm-like heads. The novel weaves more myths into this story of the chopping of the hands. An evil sorcerer named Sharok tricks the spirits of the 32 workers into subjugation and uses them for his evil purposes. 

Later in 1875, a twelve-year-old boy named Nuru becomes the chosen hero who will bring redemption to the hapless spirits. How does he do it? That’s what the novel is essentially about. I shall not spill the beans, however.

The novel begins with Nuru and ends with him. In between we are told the necessary details and myths. There are some very interesting pieces of information too in the novel about the Mughal period and the later British period. For example, as Nuru travels from Agra to Delhi on a mission related to his supernatural job, we are given some very fascinating glimpses into the British railway of the times. Agra railway station is redolent of the smoke from the locomotives and the clank of buffers. The stone-paved platform is crowded with people wearing the dresses of the period. There are young boys pulling the strings of the pankhas in the offices. There is no electricity. Oil lanterns and candles provided whatever light they could.

In the final Author’s Note, we are told that all care was taken to avoid the imperialist stereotypes of the Indian natives while conjuring up the characters. The result is that we have a mystery thriller with a good dose of horror but with some very lovable characters like Nuru and his father. Even the ghost of Mumtaz who is present almost throughout the novel is a very benign force.

This is a unique novel because of the different characterisation and quaint use of history as well as myths. Young readers are likely to enjoy it more than the adults. One thing is certain: you will keep turning the pages whether you are young or old. It’s a delightful read.

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