Through vivid narrative, Misra’s novel exposes forest fires, floods, and environmental inequities, turning bureaucratic experience into compelling fiction
BY PC Bureau
Dr. Atulya Misra’s Testimony by Fire is a searing, unflinching work of climate fiction that transforms the ashes of real tragedy into a luminous manifesto for environmental reckoning. Published in September 2025 by Rupa Publications, the novel draws direct inspiration from the devastating 2018 Kurangani forest fire in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district—a cataclysmic blaze in the Western Ghats that claimed 23 lives, predominantly women trekkers, and scorched over 500 hectares of biodiversity-rich terrain.
As the IAS officer heading the official inquiry commission during his stint as Revenue Secretary, Misra witnessed firsthand the “glaring lapses” at every level—from unprepared forest officials and selfie-obsessed trekkers to unregulated tourism operators in fire-prone zones like Bodi-Kurangani South, classified as “highly sensitive” with 15-19 prior incidents per Forest Department data (2006–2015). This intimate knowledge infuses the book with raw authenticity, elevating it beyond mere storytelling into a “civic responsibility wrapped in fiction.”
Plot Overview
The narrative unfolds through the eyes of Ranjeeth, a fictional former President of India, who emerges from self-imposed exile to confront a nation teetering on ecological collapse. Haunted by personal and collective failures, Ranjeeth’s odyssey symbolizes redemption amid ruin: a pilgrimage across India’s scarred geographies, from the bandit-haunted ravines of Chambal Valley to the eroding mangroves of coastal Sundarbans. His unlikely companion is Radha, a resilient tribal youth from the hills, whose heroism in the Kurangani blaze—guiding a female trekker to safety through smoke-choked paths—mirrors real-life valor amid the 2018 inferno.
As they journey, the plot weaves in vignettes of catastrophe: flash floods in Uttarakhand’s hills, poisoned aquifers in Punjab’s farmlands, and urban heat islands baking Mumbai’s slums. Flashbacks to the fire—ignited by dry underbrush in February–March’s peak season—intercut with prophetic visions from the enigmatic “pardoned one,” a wandering sage whose testimonies unearth buried truths. Misra’s prose is vivid and visceral, capturing the fire’s fury: “Flames danced like vengeful spirits, devouring shola forests that had stood for centuries, leaving only charred testimonies etched in ash.”
The story builds to no tidy climax but a smoldering interrogation: in a world where Tamil Nadu alone lost 1.04 kHa of tree cover to fires from 2001–2023 (with 2023’s 148 Ha marking a 6.8% spike), who bears witness for the silenced earth?
Themes and Analysis
At its pulsating core, Testimony by Fire interrogates the toxic interplay of environmental destruction and social inequities—how climate crises amplify vulnerabilities, disproportionately affecting India’s Adivasi and Dalit communities. Ranjeeth’s arc embodies elite complicity, while Radha voices indigenous resilience, critiquing extractive policies that turn sacred groves into tinderboxes. The “pardoned one” serves as a narrative fulcrum, a Rashomon-like oracle whose fragmented memories probe guilt, amnesia, and the hubris of unchecked tourism in fragile ecosystems.
Misra excels in blending fact with fable. Statistical shadows haunt the fiction, from the 21 “very highly sensitive” fire beats in Tamil Nadu to Supreme Court rulings quashing charges against trekking operators, deeming the blaze an “act of God” born of systemic neglect rather than individual malice. Themes of memory and loss resonate deeply; the novel mourns not only the 23 Kurangani dead but also the erosion of cultural heritage, as tribal songs fade with vanishing habitats. Social inequities surface starkly, particularly in the gendered vulnerabilities of women trekkers.
Stylistically, the novel shines in its restraint—immersive scenes evoke dread without didactic lectures. Critics hail this as Misra’s most mature work, surpassing Oxygen Manifesto and Vultures of Paradise in emotional depth. Minor quibbles include occasional preachiness in the sage’s monologues and underdeveloped female voices beyond archetypes, yet these pale against the narrative’s urgency. Grounded in Misra’s expertise—from carbon audits to disaster probes—the book demystifies climate science without overwhelming, making it a vital primer for policymakers and general readers alike.
Testimony by Fire transcends genre, emerging as a phoenix from Kurangani’s embers: a novel that scorches complacency and kindles collective resolve. Misra transforms a bureaucratic footnote into a universal summons, challenging readers: “Who will speak for the Earth, if not us?” For an India where forest fires have tripled in frequency over two decades, this is no escapist read but a mandate for stewardship—timely amid COP30’s looming shadows, timeless in its humanistic plea.
Author Background: Dr. Atulya Misra
Dr. Atulya Misra, a 1988-batch IAS officer, currently serves as Additional Chief Secretary in the Tamil Nadu government. He has held key roles in the state’s administration, including Principal Secretary for Revenue, Disaster Management, Industries, Environment & Forests, and Chairman of institutions such as Chennai Port Trust and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. He earned a doctorate from Anna University for research on environmental impacts in maritime sectors.
An environmentalist and policy thinker, Misra channels his expertise into eco-fiction to raise public awareness. His debut, Oxygen Manifesto (2019), depicted grassroots environmental activism in Manipur and received critical acclaim. This was followed by Vultures of Paradise (2021), exploring human-wildlife conflict amid rapid urbanization. Testimony by Fire (2025) marks his third work, blending compelling narrative with rigorous environmental insight. Misra writes in longhand during solitary walks, believing that fiction can awaken readers to the planet’s plight in ways academic discourse often cannot.
