Richa Lakhera on Contamination: ‘Heroism is gender agnostic’
The Hindu
Richa Lakhera says her protagonist, Amba, follows Joseph Campbell’s classic template for a hero’s journey
In her ninth novel, Contamination, (Om Books), Richa Lakhera explores the little-known genre of militia horror. “It is a merging of two genres—war and horror, guns and ghosts,” says the 40-year-old television journalist over a video call from Mumbai. “Militia horror is an underutilised genre in India.”
In Contamination, with flying bullets, exploding grenades and a rising body count, Richa says there are also hungry ghouls. “I have merged the paranoia of a constant war with horror. So from hunters, the characters become the hunted.”
Supernatural elements, Richa believes, deliver a promise of a world of wonder and mystery. “The supernatural offers hope, that we have not seen it all, that there is more.” The Hungry Gods writer says she was working on another book, The History of Violence, which deals with the same concept minus the supernatural elements, when she decided to change track. “Obviously, I could not introduce horror in that book. So I started writing Contamination.”
The biggest challenge in writing a book like this is the research, says Richa. “Being a journalist, I follow what I call the three Rs — research, asking the right questions and being resourceful.”
Amba, the protagonist of Contamination, is a woman, leading soldiers through a conflict. “Traditionally heroes are male and the only role given to a woman is either as a temptress, to tempt the male hero from his goal or as a catalyst to help him achieve it.”
In Contamination, Richa says, stereotypes are broken with Amba following Joseph Campbell’s template for a hero’s journey. “So initially, there is a trauma, then a call to adventure with ordeals, battles, resolution and final resurrection. Amba goes through the trials of operating in a male-dominated zone. If she had refused to take up the challenge of heading this unit, then her experience would have been that of a victim and not a hero.”
The plot, Richa says, provokes Amba to make choices, which reveal her integrity. “That is what heroism is about. Heroism is gender agnostic. It has to do with the choices we make. I have avoided trying to explain Amba’s choices from the gender point of view, because that flattens the storytelling.”
The Madras High Court on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, rejected a plea by former special Director General of Police (DGP) Rajesh Das to restore the electricity service connection to a bungalow in Thaiyur near Kelambakkam in Chengalpattu district, and to restrain Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) officials from disturbing the power supply in future.
The Madras High Court on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, permitted Anna University to deposit, in three monthly instalments, an amount of ₹73.23 lakh before the Central Government Industrial Tribunal (CGIT) as a condition to hear a statutory appeal preferred by the varsity against the Coimbatore Regional Provident Fund (RPF) Commissioner’s order to pay dues to the tune of ₹2.44 crore to contract employees.