The Calcutta Chromosome

Murugan, or Morgan, as he is sometimes referred to, worked for Life-Watch in the 1990s, until he disappeared in 1995. He was an authority on Ronald Ross, the man who discovered the cause of malaria. When Antar met him before he disappeared, Murugan was apparently still paying alimony to his ex-wife. Murugan is described as a tubby little man with a moonlike face, carefully trimmed hair and goatee, and a boxer's nose. He dresses immaculately. Murugan plays a pivotal role throughout the story because of his suspicion that an unknown person or persons manipulated Ronald Ross and those who stood in Ross's way of making his big breakthrough. Murugan forges the links between the characters and identifies the threads that connect seemingly disparate events. More importantly, through Murugan's efforts, his character reaches across time and space, linking New York with India and Egypt, and the late 20th century with both the late 19th century and the future.

Urmila is a young woman who works as a journalist for Calcutta magazine. Not long out of school, she lives at home with her parents, siblings, and extended family. Her income helps the family, but her family, particularly her mother, doesn’t see a future for her as a working woman. They expect her to give up her job and get married. Urmila, however, is a progressive woman, not afraid to go out and ask hard questions of the politicians she covers. Throughout the story, she acts as sounding board for Murugan to tell his version of the events leading up to and after Ross's discovery of how malaria is transmitted. She is friends with both Sonali and Mrs. Aratounian, and she has been doing research on some of Phulboni's early writings. Like Murugan, Urmila has been manipulated into participating in an experiment by unknown persons, in order to help Murugan arrive at certain conclusions. Finally, she has been chosen by the one Phulboni refers to as the mistress of Silence. 

Sonali is also a writer for Calcutta magazine. It's the first job she’s had in years, having lived off her early fame as an actor and writer, and her mother's fame as a legendary stage actor. She’s older than Urmila and her father is Phulboni. Like Urmila and Murugan, she has been manipulated into participating in Phulboni’s agenda to uncover certain facts that push the three of them to discover certain truths. It is Sonali who tells Urmila about what happened to Phulboni at Renepur station, and it is Sonali who discovers Mrs. Aratounian performing a similar ceremony to the ceremony Mangala performed a century ago. Further, it’s Sonali who hears Mrs. Aratounian refer to Romen as "Laakhan." Her disappearance is what spurs Murugan and Urmila to search for her, and leads to their urgent efforts to find Mrs. Aratounian, because of what Sonali reveals. Maria is apparently another incarnation of Sonali.

Phulbani is a famous author who first came across the name Laakhan as a young man, when he was sent to Renupur as a representative of the Palmer Brothers company. Phulboni was once a close friend of Sonali's mother, and is the father of Sonali. It’s Phulboni who speaks of the secrets that lie in Calcutta, who refers to the mistress of Silence, and who has dedicated his life and writing to finding her. He was known to wander the streets of Calcutta at night, searching for this mistress. Phulboni wrote many stories, including a series of stories depicting Laakhan as a character who was constantly changing his identity and name. 

Ronald Ross was a British poet, novelist, and scientist. Ross was born in 1857, in India, and awarded a 1902 Nobel Prize for his work with the malaria parasite. Ross’s role in discovering that malaria is transmitted via certain mosquitoes is central to the plot’s unfolding. However, it is not the historical account that matters, but Murugan’s view that there are discrepancies in the official account of Ross’s research, and that these discrepancies point to a secret history underlying his research on malaria. Ross is also important because he hires Lutchman to become his assistant.  

Lutchman, also known by the name of Laakhan, is one of the novel’s antagonists. His character is elusive. Lutchman was a dhooley-bearer who worked for both Cunningham and Ross. Murugan has suggested that it was Lutchman who pushed Ross in the right direction, leading to Ross’s breakthrough on what causes malaria. It apparently was also Lutchman who gave Farley the slide containing pigeon's blood handed to him by Mangala. Grigson, a linguistic surveyor, believed Lutchman was from much farther north than he had let on, a place where his name was likely Laakhan. It was said that Lutchman had difficulty using his left hand.

Laakhan is the prime incarnation of Lutchman. However, he remains an unknown character. In the story, we never get to really know him. His name has been mentioned over the course of many events, in many locations for more than a century. He is also dangerous. He is said to be the young man last seen before Farley went missing. He was a young boy glimpsed at a train station not far from a hamlet in Egypt that was wiped out by a sudden malaria epidemic. Phulboni heard an inhuman voice call out his name, just after nearly being hit by a train. Sonali heard Mrs. Aratounian refer to Romen as Laakhan. Phulboni wrote a series of stories about a person named Laakhan, who constantly assumes a new identity and name wherever he goes. The only distinguishing feature about him is that his left hand has only four fingers and no thumb. Like Mangala, Laakhan is an immortal being with many incarnations.