Mohammad Hanif is the winner of the inaugural Shakti Bhatt First Book Prize“Shakti always wanted to put up a prize for a deserving first book,” said Jeet Thayil, poet and the late Shakti Bhatt’s husband. He stood alongside Bhatt’s mother Sheela and shook hands with those who’d gathered to cheer for the winner of the first Shakti Bhatt First Book prize. Mohammad Hanif, author of the A Case of Exploding Mangoes (Random House, Rs 395), won the award which entails a cheque of Rs 1 lakh.On August 17, 1988, Pak One, the airplane carrying Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq and several top generals crashed, killing all on board. Despite continued investigation, a smoking gun, mechanical or conspiratorial, has yet to be found. Hanif’s debut novel tracks at least two (and as many as a half-dozen) assassination vectors to their convergence in the plane crash, incorporating elements as diverse as venom-tipped sabers, the curses of a scorned First Lady, and a crow impaired by an over-indulgence of ripe mangoes.The prize was announced by eminent journalist and writer M J Akbar who recounted his own memories of knowing the Pakistani dictator and congratulated Hanif on capturing the times of the General’s rule with such humour. Hanif also read out a passage from the book. “I’m thankful for the award and in the light of terrorism that plagues us all, it would be fitting to remember that even those who don’t live by terrorism, die by it,” said Hanif. Hanif beat Kari by Amruta Patil, The Music Room by Namita Devidayal, and The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga among others.
