Shatranj by Arindam Chattyopadhyay [Paperback]

Two hundred and eighty-eight billion!

That’s approximately the number of possible board positions after the first four moves in chess. It’s impossible to confine such immense possibilities within just sixty-four squares.
That’s why the game extends beyond the board—spreading into the world around us.

In this game, the mango people (the common masses) are nothing more than pawns. Their movement is straightforward—one step at a time. They cannot move backward. They block paths, raise fists in protests, and chant slogans. Sometimes, an invisible string pulls them to the highest seat of power!

But who are the knights of this game—the ones who move in unpredictable L-shaped leaps? They are the immensely powerful media. Messengers who are untouchable, often hailed as the "fourth pillar of democracy." With their unorthodox moves, they tear through the well-groomed gardens of the system. They point fingers at both the oppressor and the oppressed, with equal defiance. In the damp disorder of anarchy, they spread like fungi.

Then there are the ones who silently prowl the corridors of power, hunting in the shadows—the bureaucrats. They are the bishops, sometimes the rooks—figures of far-reaching influence. Their strikes often descend from behind the cover of clouds.

Towering over all of them is the Minister—drunk on power, arrogant, formidable. To overcome obstacles, he relies on his knights (read: the media), to expand influence, he uses the bishops and rooks. To shield himself or to make a dramatic return, he manipulates the humble pawns. He alone knows one truth: everyone is dispensable—except him. While guarding the powerless king’s throne, he is actually plotting his own victory.

Amid this web of intricate strategies and shifting battle formations, conflicts of various scales unfold. History testifies—every battle is ultimately a struggle for power.

And Shatranj is the story of one such battle.

From the dark alleys of Dharsa to Karachi’s crime-ridden Chanesar Goth, from Delhi’s Ganesh Nagar to Baruipur’s bustling bazaars, from America’s Lost Knife Circle to Lahore’s Mochi Gate—this story spreads like a finely woven net.

Whose story is this? Yours? Mine? Ours?

To find the answer, you must unfold the intricate chessboard of Shatranj.
Or perhaps that’s the wrong question.

Maybe Shatranj won’t provide all the answers. Maybe, it will leave you with more questions than answers.

Who controls the game? Who really wins?

…And most importantly—which piece are you?