The story of five geniuses Madras, December 26, 2004. Shiva has a miraculous escape from the tsunami. Twenty years before, a friend saved him from almost certain death - whose debt he was reluctant to acknowledge.
Coimbatore, south India, 1969. It all began, most probably, because Shiva and his four classmates - all kindergarten students - were christened 'the Five Geniuses' by their doting first teacher. She did not stop with that simple declaration but, by a careful personality assessment, gave them their callings.
Innocent utterances can change lives. How would their lives have turned out if they hadn't been called geniuses?
Early Indications is a tale of friendship, oppression, disaffection, betrayal, guilt, false dawns, and the impossibility of redemption. It is about confronting the infinite shades of grey we are painted in, and wondering how much semi-serious pronouncements can shape the spectrum. The novel also showcases the subterranean charm of Coimbatore, which lies midway between the teeming metropolises and the overwrought village settings.
