Revolveror Hanhi
By Khobir Ahmed

Publishers: Bani Prakashan Private Limited

Price: Rs 30

Being a part of the police force Superintendent of Police Khobir Ahmed has undergone every emotion that goes along with the profession. He has realised that the life of a police personnel is an invariable tussle between his conscience and the demands of his callings. In his book Revolveror Hanhi he sets about to present the life of a police personnel. I am not trying to present an unblemished picture of the policeman through my book but I have simply tried to illustrate the inner turmoil, feelings and musings in the form of words in an unprejudiced manner

Once a person dons a police uniform he is bound by the stipulations of his official attire. Life becomes a mission-----a mission to protect the integrity of the country and its countrymen. But in the process this selfless bunch have knowingly or unknowingly earned a reputation for themselves, a reputation of being merciless gun totters with a knack of taking lives without the fluttering of an eyebrow.

Recalling an incident he says, In 1982 When I was posted in Baithalansu in Karbi Anglong as a probationary deputy superintendent had to visit a remote village to nab a dreaded dacoit. I ordered my troupe to remain in the bus while I went to the nearby police station. After a while I asked a small boy to run off and see if there were any manuh (people) inside the bus. The boy trotted off and returned with the news that there were no manuh but only a few policeman inside the bus. I was really unsettled by this by the answer and thus wrote my first novel Police Aru Manuh (Police and man).

Similarly Revolveror Hanhi too is based on my own experiences says Mr Ahmed. Through the various stories I have tried to portray the lives of the police personnel but here I would like to add that the book should not be considered a police case diary.

In Revolveror Hanhi the writer has attempted to communicate and elucidate to the world that the disapproving image of the policeman which we have shaped in our minds is not indeed so. For in his heart of hearts he is a common human being, plain and vulnerable like the rest of us. It is not by choice that a police personnel pulls the trigger but it his duty that beckons him, and he is bound by duty . In fact the turmoil inside him is far greater than the one at whom he points his gun he adds.

The name of the book Revolveror Hanhi meaning the ‘laughter of the revolver’ is itself a title of one of the stories.and speaks volumes about the nature of the stories. The title suggests the personified killing machine’s perverted glee at its overpowering influence over the user. Often the upheavel inside his heart jeopardises his life and leads to his own annihilation.

Khobir Ahmed needs no introduction to the reading public of Assam for his writings have already made forays into many a reader’s heart. Most of he stories of this book has already been published in some of the popular Assamese dailies like Aamar Assam, Purbanchal etc.

Born in Golaghat of Upper Assam, he was first a lecturer of English at Raha College and later at the Golaghat Girls College in Golaghat. Eventually in the year 1981 he left the sanctuary of the noble profession and joined the hazardous arena of the police force. At present he has been posted as the Superintendent of Police in the Special Branch at Kahilipara in Guwahati.

His realistic approach rivets the reader’s attention, for realism is an inherent quality of Khobir Ahmed’s narrative. The stories and incidents that he has narrated are all parts of his own life and are presented in a clear and colloquial style .He seems to be talking directly to the reader. Another significant trait of his style is his uncanny quality of wringing out the tragic moments of life albeit through humorous anecdotes.

Finally, it has always been the writer’s motive to show to the world that there is a heart beating in every police personnel and that there lies an emotional and godfearing human being inside the tough facade of a policeman. The book is definitely a sojourn into the tugs and tribulations of a personnel’s life during trying times.

- By Rituparna Goswami Pandey