The final part of Krish Day’s Indian trilogy.
The Secrets of Rajpur illuminates, in a quaint and satirical vein, the impossibility of recording on paper the infinitely variegated impulses of human desire.
Nearing the end of a long political career, the Minister of Education meditates on a fitting memorial to his tenure in office. His Personal Assistant, a lively and ambitious young woman who is also his lover, proposes an updated version of the Kāma Sūtra as a gift to newly-weds. Drawing on private experience, and viewing modern Indian society as still beset by prurience and age-old puritanism, she believes the authorities ought to actively promote a wholesome rapport between men and women, tutoring the young on what’s what and what’s where.
The Ministerial Committee charged with the revision of the ancient text is paralysed by ill-humoured debate and bickering, unable to agree on the indelicate wording and descriptions to be censored. When news of the Ministerial initiative leaks to the press, a storm of protests gathers force. Religious groups, women’s associations, self-appointed guardians of national purity, take to the streets with vociferous and often violent demonstrations. With insistent calls for resignation, the Minister suffers a near-fatal stroke. The lady assistant flees town, to find comfort in the arms of her aged mentor, finally managing a tantric ashram for the conjugal rejuvenation of elderly couples.
Embedded in the comic narrative are the tales of three women, each a facet of sexuality distinct from the message of the Kāma Sūtra. A temple dancer, whose journey of faith, finds her at the profligate service of man. A young English woman, whose deranged fate unveils uncommon sensual talents, that finally crown her consort of a Prince. A Spanish gitano dancer unveiling a novel eroticism to reawaken the sated manhood of a decadent race.
