No Margin for Error

Tanushree Podder

Description

On a balmy November evening, a group of terrorists unleash mindless carnage in the city of Mumbai. Pitted against them, in one of the city’s grandest hotels, are the commandos from the elite special forces. Leading them are Captain Neel Dutta and major Sam Fernandes, two of the forces’ youngest officers: friends for life, and each other confidantes. But, only one of them survives to tell their tale. It is at this explosive moment that no margin for error truly begins. Tanushree turns the clock backwards – Whizzing past days, months, years, inviting us to enter the lives of best friends, Neel and Sam. How did they meet? How they bonded with each other in a world away from home? How did they survive brutal training, heartbreaks, internal politics, and missions of National importance during their time together as rookies in the Indian Army? And most importantly, how did they end up in Mumbai on that fatal day? Tanushree’s exciting follow-up to boots, Belts, berets and on the double takes an incisive look at the patriots who risk it all to stand in the line of Fire.

Sujets

• Thrillers
• Hard Work
• List of terrorist incidents
• DeFence
• Indian Military Academy
• National Defence Academy
• Beret
• Boots
• Officer
• Captain
• Training
• Military
• Weapon
• Terrorism
• Patriotism
• Mumbai
• Un silence de mort
• Army
• Discipline
• War
• Line of Fire
• Fiction
• Bombay

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 12 juin 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788186939833
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

NO MARGIN
FOR ERROR
Tanushree is a self-confessed word-a-holic and a traveller. When not reading or writing books, she’s sure to be packing her bags and boots to zip around the world. A true maverick, she stumbled through many career choices before settling on writing.
A chocolate addict with a penchant for the unusual, she has collected dozens of interesting certificates that range from a wine-master’s assistant at Australia, an international reindeer driving licence from Lapland, to one from ‘The School of Hard Knocks’ at Royal Selangor.
No Margin for Error is her ninth novel.
After leading a nomadic life for several decades, thanks to the Indian Army, she has finally grown roots at Pune. Tanushree can be contacted on her website – http://www.tanushreepodder.com
 
OTHER BOOKS BY TANUSHREE PODDER
Boots Belts Berets: A novel about pranks, parades and love set in the National Defence Academy.
Escape from Harem: A Mughal saga of romance, revenge and retribution
On the Double: Drills, Drama and Dare-Devilry at The Indian Military Academy
OTHER INDIAINK TITLES Anjana Basu Black Tongue Anjana Basu Chinku and the Wolfboy Anuradha Majumdar Infinity Paper: A mysterious quest, an unforgettable adventure Boman Desai Servant, Master, Mistress Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Shadowland Claudine Le Tourneur d’lson Hira Mandi C.P. Surendran An Iron Harvest I. Allan Sealy The Everest Hotel I. Allan Sealy Trotternama Indrajit Hazra The Garden of Earthly Delights Jaspreet Singh 17 Tomatoes: Tales from Kashmir Jawahara Saidullah The Burden of Foreknowledge John MacLithon Hindutva, Sex & Adventure Kalpana Swaminathan The Page 3 Murders Kalpana Swaminathan The Gardener’s Song Kamalini Sengupta The Top of the Raintree Lavanya Arvind Shanbaoug The Heavens We Chase Madhavan Kutty The Village Before Time Pankaj Mishra The Romantics Paro Anand I’m Not Butter Chicken Paro Anand No Guns at My Son’s Funeral Paro Anand Pure Sequence Paro Anand Wingless Paro Anand Weed Rakesh Satyal Blue Boy Ranjit Lal Bambi Chops and Wags Ranjit Lal The Life &Times of Altu-Faltu Ranjit Lal The Small Tigers of Shergarh Ranjit Lal The Simians of South Block and Yumyum Piglets Sanjay Bahadur The Sound of Water Sanjay Bahadur Hul: Cry Rebel! Selina Sen A Mirror Greens in Spring Shandana Minhas Tunnel Vision Sharmistha Mohanty New Life Shree Ghatage Brahma’s Dream Sudhir Thapliyal Crossing the Road Susan Visvanathan Nelycinda and Other Stories Susan Visvanathan The Visiting Moon Susan Visvanathan The Seine at Noon
 

 
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This digital edition published in 2019
First published in 2019 by
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For the unsung heroes of this country
 
AUTHOR’S NOTE

Like most Indians, I was outraged when Mumbai, the country’s commercial nerve centre, was attacked by terrorists. The enormity of loss, both human and property, shook me up.
More than 160 people including 18 police officers and two NSG commandos were killed in the attack that continued for about 60 hours. More than 500 people were injured and property worth hundreds of crores was gutted or destroyed. It was the deadliest attack, ever.
Apart from the commandos, there were many other agencies and individuals, who had risked their lives to help the guests trapped in the hotel during those fateful days.
I had read the heroic accounts of the Taj Mahal Palace staff, who helped the people trapped within the hotel rooms. Many stories were told, many examples of human empathy, bravery and strength quoted. These include the one about the hotel’s kitchen staff forming a human shield to protect the lives of guests, another one about Karambir Singh Kang, the general manager of the hotel, who continued to save people even after his wife and two sons, died in the fire set by the terrorists. These were ordinary people who rose up to the extraordinary circumstances, some of them dying in the process.
Then there were 1200 firemen, who rubbed shoulders with the NSG commandos, risking their lives while fighting the raging flames triggered by the terrorists holed up at the Taj Mahal Place, the Trident and Nariman House during the terror siege. Between them, they managed to douse the flames and rescue hundreds of people trapped in the buildings.
The NSG saved many lives by rescuing people from the Oberoi, the Taj and from the Nariman House. All this came at an irreversible loss. Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan died in the attack and Commando Sunil Yadav was injured.
Everyone involved in the battle against terrorism showed exemplary courage. Every individual went beyond the call of duty to save precious lives. The ghastly incident brought to fore a lot many things. Among them were the examples of human ethics, values and solidarity.
A writer can only pick up a pen to express anguish, and I decided to do so. I was determined to document the bravery of my countrymen, as well as the cowardice of the attackers.
Many books have been written after the Mumbai attack, but mine would be a fiction, I decided. There were two reasons for that. Firstly, a non-fiction account provides no scope for emotions; secondly, I wanted to bring out the training that goes into making heroes.
Once that decision had been made, it was left for me to settle on the protagonist and other characters.
Since many of the brave men, who fought the terrorists, were from NSG, and the commandos are mainly drawn from the army, I chose to write the book with them in mind.
The back-story of the protagonist forms an important part of the book. In the No Margin for Error , the back-story had to dwell upon the kind of training, as well as the psychological and physical build up required to make a successful commando. To do that, I would have to take the book back at the beginning of the protagonist’s career.
Also, the success of my two books Boots Belts Berets and On the Double had led to demands for a third book in the series. The two books had also been successful in popularising characters like Pessi and Maachh. The two of them were relatable and well-liked but having set the books in earlier times, I couldn’t use them as NSG commandos during the 24/11 Mumbai attacks.
After a lot of deliberation, I decided to create Neel Dutta, Pessi’s son. Modelling Sam on the lines of Joe, another popular character from On the Double , seemed just right. Once the protagonist was decided, the story took off. A few interesting characters like Mago and Bhullar were specifically created to bring a smile on your face. Their antics will serve as a reminder to those of Maachh and Porky in the earlier books.
To flesh up the characters, I decided to give an account of Neel’s life after passing out from the IMA (Indian Military Academy). Though they are decades apart, the third army book No Margin for Error begins where On the Double ended. It begins with the protagonist’s commission in the army.
Since the account of the terrorist attack brings a heavy feeling to the book, it had to be balanced with a hefty dose of humour. I brought in a few characters and incidents to weave in the lighter side of life.
As in the earlier books there is enough fun and humour to keep you laughing. But, there are poignant moments as well. Fun, adventure, thrill and emotions, No Margin for Error is a partially true account of an ambitious and brave soldier and the challenges in his life.
Though, it is fiction, the book required an extensive amount of research. It was like I was being urged by the souls of those, who died during the course of those horrifying hours, to narrate their story.
I am sure you will enjoy this one.
– Tanushree Podder
 
ONE

Attending Sam’s funeral was the harshest punishment I had ever faced. Nothing I had undergone in the past, not even the commando training, could compare to the pain I experienced that day. Physical pain, we had been trained to endure. That was bodily suffering that went away after a few hours. It is emotional suffering that I am not good at handling. Sam’s death was an amalgamation of physical and emotional ache. It took the wind out of me, splintering my heart into a million tiny shards. Sometimes, it is difficult to describe the bond between two people. There are no logical reasons.
Sam had been my rudder and life-buoy.
Ambling aimlessly through the house, I found Ananya staring unseeingly out of the bedroom window. She was sniffling like a forlorn puppy. The shock of his death was too much for her to bear. She adored Sam. On his part, Sam ribbed her mercilessly, flirted outrageously with her, goaded her to leave me and set up house with him. He made her laugh as I never could. He could change her mood and make her come alive. His laughter was infectious and his joie de vivre matchless.
And now he was gone!
That morning, as we sat in the small church for the special prayer service, there were hundreds of moist eyes around us. The sight of Colonel Rodney Fernandes (retired), Sam’s father, immovable as a rock in his wheelchair, the trembling lower lip defying his efforts at controlling grief, tore my heart.