Action-packed Sci-fi from Hyd author

A computer hardware and networking professional, Ravi Shanker, hailing from Vijayawada and presently living in Secunderabad, hit it off with a bang with his debut novel. Interestingly the novel 'Collision of Dimensions' is a science fiction, a rare attempt by Indian authors and the author has certainly succeeded in creating an unputdownable work at that. U Atreya Sarma Though a debutant novelist, MV Ravi Shanker hit it off with a bang conceiving and picking a theme from the sum of his experience borne out of his educational qualifications, his profession, his other interests, and the ambience of the places he lived in including Mt Abu which is a principal locale in the novel, Collision of Dimensions. And he has certainly succeeded in creating a mystery - an unputdownable one, what with the wild and weird encounters between the real and the surreal, the natural and the supernatural, the physical and the psychic, the terrestrial and the astral, the fleshly and the ghostly-ghastly, the past and the present, the noble and the nefarious, the pacific and the gory. For those wanting a little more, there is the icing � chases and escapes, kidnaps and killings, and love and romance - of the decent and enduring type. We have a brief tryst with a time warp in the year 1647 AD when Raja Raghuveer of Alwar built a hilltop retreat, an architectural wonder conjuring the images of the Maya Sabha of the Mahabharata times, for his most beloved wife Gautami on the Sheetal Shikhar (literally, a cool tower) in the Aravali range. They were about to move into the edifice when they were forewarned of "bizarre happenings in and around the house."

The flash-back over, we racily move on into the present to find one Vani Vaidyanathan and an Aditya Kar hotly debate over a challenging article by a psychic and whether they should take up the gauntlet to expose the charlatan's patently unscientific claims. Vani is an assistant professor and Kar, a professor at the Chandrasekhar Research Institute of Advanced Physical Sciences (CRIAPS), twenty four kilometres from Mt Abu. The quest cum challenge takes Vani to the post-26/11 Mumbai where she has a tête-� -tête with a young psychic and rich hotelier � Arunav, who in her words earlier, "claims to be some sort of psychic and writes that no scientist on this planet, either now or in future would be able to comprehend the fourth dimension fully, let alone travel into it." Adds he in the article: "The only way to understand and travel into the Fourth Dimension... is by comprehending the powers of your own mind. By consciously activating one key area of your brain, it is possible to go into the Fourth Dimension." And now as Arunav gets to demonstrate it, the following dialogue ensues in the tête-� -tête: "Vani, watch this spoon." He said so quietly, that she was not prepared for what came next. He was staring at a spoon on the table. She followed his gaze. He was looking at the spoon with a high degree of concentration. To her utter amazement and disbelief, the spoon was slowly lifting from the surface of the table. It rose almost a foot above the table top and was hovering as if held by an unseen hand. There must be some trick in this, she thought. "There is no trick in this, Vani." He was still looking at the spoon which was in the air. Then slowly it began its descent and gently landed on the table surface. "One can do this with any object. I hate to give such demonstrations, believe me. But I thought that this would be good way to begin our discussion. What do you say?" "But this is impossible! It is against the laws of physics! Can you do this again?" "Any number of times. But it tires you a bit. Mentally, that is." It is about this time that an astral object - the Force - chances from an unknown realm to land into the hands of a young Mukund Matondkar a computer professional working for the Dhruv-Tara Software Solutions in the Mindspace area of Mumbai. He has a keen interest in philosophy and astronomy, keeping tabs on reports dealing with unexplained phenomena like the UFOs, and other strange celestial events. With a great flair for computers and hardware in particular, Mukund has practical attraction for networks. Of the size of a paperweight and oval in shape, this Force is brilliant with its slightly bluish, unearthly light. Its rays pass through any person but cast no shadow! Credited to be a source of supreme intelligence and benefactor of incredible powers, the Force becomes a fierce bone of contention between rival groups. An occult and monstrous cult, the Ghoras inhabiting the interior of the dense and dark Himalayan foothills, who have been waiting for the Force for four hundred years, get wind of it, and with the invocation and blessings of their extra-dimensional Supreme Master - Ghoratighora - they swing into action to lay their hands on it. With the conflicting forces furiously engaged for the prized possession, there is a lot of action coming up � plotting and counter-plotting, dealing and double-dealing � in a no-holds-barred life-and-death epic battle both of brain and brawn. Coinciding with the descent of the Force, a flurry of eerie and scary developments envelopes the Mt Abu region where the presence of some strange lights and heavy magnetic anomalies repel the people, the trekkers, the tourists, the explorers, the experienced and hardy guides, and even the animals from approaching the Sheetal Shikhar. The supernatural and the psychic including techniques like psychokinesis or telekinesis in full play, we come across a good share of stimulating and elevating observations in the course of the dialogues of some of the key characters. On the question of existence of a multi-dimensional cosmos and our inherent limitations to see the higher dimensions - though some of them co-exist with us unseen or in close proximity to us - we listen to curious and engaging discussions that never sound prolix. "There are certain realms, certain dimensions that are completely hidden to us. Scientists have proved, at least mathematically, that there are fourth, fifth and more spatial dimensions. But these are all physical dimensions, like our own three-dimensional world. We cannot see the higher spatial dimensions, because our brains have evolved in a three-dimensional world. That does not mean they don't exist. Similarly, there are certain dimensions that are very subtle and are more mental than physical." If you feel like hungering for an extra pleasure after, feasting on this sci-fi, well, the Epilogue has a tantalizing hint of a coming sequel that should be equally compelling. So head-on take a plunge into the Collision of Dimensions, and author Ravi Shanker can be contacted at: ravisat_arb@rediffmail.com