PLOT: 2.5/5
WRITING: 2.5/5
SPOOKINESS: 3.5/5
OVERALL: 2.5/5

In preparation for a video on Indian horror books, I have been picking and reading many relatively unknown horror books from Amazon. Mayur Kalbag’s ‘The Whistling Witch’ has been the most recent addition to my list.

What to expect?

Expect a book that is a short read, with just under 30 pages. Expect a short novella with an Indian setting and Indian characters. Expect a book that promises adventure along with horror and one that takes you to a remote Indian island in the Andamans. Finally, expect a book that can be easily picked up by beginner-level readers because the English used is easy and beginner-friendly.

What is the story all about?

It is the setting of the story that first strikes you as unusual and highly exciting. Set in a remote island of the Andamans called Phookiru, though surrounded by unparalleled natural beauty is still unfrequented by tourists, and for a valid reason. The island is infamous for the kidnapping and murder of many tourists, which is why the tourists like to keep away from the area.

It is in such a location that our protagonist, Mayur along with his cousin Heembra, set off on an adventure. The two are visiting their cousin Raghu, who is deployed as a forest ranger. As soon as they reach the island, they are bewitched by its pristine beauty, but little do they know that this beauty comes with a price.

As soon as Mayur starts whistling, an otherwise harmless act, things begin to take a turn for the worse, and soon, he is warned by everyone in the family and on the island to never whistle, even by mistake. For whistling wakes “Her” up from her slumber, and that is never a good sign.

Soon, events start to unfold that are beyond Mayur’s control, and he finds himself in a hair-raising encounter with the witch. Between ancient customs, age-old rituals, well-intentioned tantrics, a benevolent goddess, and an evil revenge-seeking witch, Mayur’s world is thrown upside down as he comes face to face with the strange realities of this unconventional place.

My thoughts

The premise and the setting of the story are no doubt interesting. I loved the setting of the unique island, replete with its strange and ancient customs and rituals. I also enjoyed the initial part of the book, where the build-up to the whole suspense of the otherworldly creature is superbly done. The characters are decent enough, though given the short length of the book, we do not get that invested in their story.

What I did not like?

Even the spooky quotient is good enough, with the suspense building and whole shroud of mystery serving to further pique the reader’s interest. However, my qualm with the book lies with the editing. The editing is just horrible. Yup, I said it. There is no other word apt enough to describe it. First of all, the blurb of the book suggests that our protagonist is called Manav however, in the story, the main character is addressed as Mayur throughout.

Then, there are issues with grammar and punctuation that are hard to miss. If the reader somehow bypasses those, there are further issues like repetition of whole paras back-to-back. These are things that deliver a severe blow to the overall reading experience, and this explains the lower rating given to the book.

The ending

The beginning and middle parts of the book are great, but the end is a tad hasty and brings down the spooky vibe. If more time and effort were attributed to chalking out the final scenes of the showdown, then the book would have surely scored some brownie points.

Overall, The Whistling Witch is a decent effort by the author, it’s certainly a new voice in the Indian horror genre, and I hope to see more from the author’s pen in the future.

Cannot wait to read it? You can buy your copy of The Whistling Witch using the link below.

27%
₹150.00