Books by Ajit Mani

Return of the Yakshi is a story of friendship, idealism, love and a brief but violent revolution that was followed by the passing of land reform legislation in Kerala. It explores the psyche of "Urban Naxals" who get involved in dangerous activities labelled as "seditious" at the risk of their lives. Although the story is complete fiction, it has a historical setting where the author has taken creative liberties with incidents, characters, dates and sequence of events. With the prospect of the declaration of Emergency in 1975, the protagonist, Suresh, is forced to leave Kerala and travel to Pamban Island located between India and Sri Lanka, living in exile till 1977. The story suggests a scenario involving a highly probable nexus between the Naxals of Kerala, the LTTE in Sri Lanka and the ivory smuggler, Veerappan. The story highlights the helplessness of the tribals of Kerala against the might of the State that appropriated their forests, while the LTTE used "asymmetrical" warfare and suicide bombers to fight for their homeland.

Professor Avaran Kuriakose specialises in the history of the Deccan. A former colleague and friend calls him to the erstwhile state of Arcot to decipher a set of clues contained in a Masonic Lodge Minutes Book and a 250 year old diary.Avaran locates a long lost family heirloom with a gory past.He is a Freemason and Knight Templar and knows his life is in danger because of his involvement in this assignment.The story has a highly readable account of the Carnatic Wars at the end of which the English East India Company emerged as a colonial power.Political discussions give an insight into some of the tensions over the hangovers of British rule, notably the English language and the Indo Anglians. There is a brief discussion on the Anglo Indians of mixed blood, most of whom have emigrated to the UK and Australia due to a sense of insecurity.Avaran's life is endangered when he visits the medieval Gingee Fort and again when he is assaulted in a moving train by a jealous family member.A historically credible reconstruction of events attempts to explain the mysterious disappearance of the vast treasure of the Vijayanagara Empire.