Bettie's Books

 

http://youtu.be/E3gsAPmVK6g

The Deceivers (1988)

Pierce Brosnan ... William Savage
Shashi Kapoor ... Raja Chandra Singh
Saeed Jaffrey ... Hussein
Helena Michell ... Sarah Wilson
Keith Michell ... Colonel Wilson
David Robb ... George Anglesmith

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1825, and district collector William Savage witnesses a brutal double murder. John Masters' family saga starring David Collings.

Sati

Kali

Members of India's Thuggee group strangled victims as sacrifice to Shiva and Kali.

From wiki - The main character, William Savage, is an official of the East India Company and tax collector (or, as he would rather view himself, colonial administrator) of the fictional district of "Madhia". He is deeply committed to his duties, which he considers to lie with the people of his district, rather than tax extraction for the East India Company. He is fluent in four dialects and has a highly developed sense of honor. At the beginning of the story, he marries his fiancée Sarah Wilson, the daughter of Colonel Wilson and 20 years his junior. In the course of the story he discovers a mass grave, filled with the remains of travellers, all of whom were evidently strangled to death in ritualistic fashion, among them a recently killed British officer. This leads him to begin an investigation, in the course of which he arrests Hussein, who confesses to being a thug, or deceiver. Colonel Wilson arrives and is furious at the measures that Savage has taken to find the ones responsible for the mass murders. He refuses to believe Savage's story of the thuggee cult, blaming the murders on dacoits (bandits) instead. Savage then decides to become a thug and infiltrates their society with Hussein's help. His character is loosely based on William Sleeman, who historically started an extensive campaign involving profiling, intelligence, and executions.

This is the first book in the Indian Trilogy and I am rather hoping teh beeb will give them all up for our delight and will be checking the forthcoming scheduled events. Became rather wearied by William Savage's interminable internal dialogue, a tad bit trippy however, that aside, an exciting rendition of the times by someone who had been immersed in Indian Culture all his life.