The main theme of the book 'Shikari' is fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of vague past. Nagappa is R and D manager in large chemical factory. Having lost his parents in an early age, he has struggled a lot, but has come up in life due to his hard work and intelligence. One fine day suddenly he finds himself suspended from his job. The reason given is that he might be involved in the fire accident which occurred in the factory. And he is asked to go on a leave for a month. An introvert by nature, he is in a turmoil. Along with external problems, he keeps remembering about how his back and stomach were burnt when his shirt catches fire. He doubts the fire might not be accident, but his father might have tried to kill him. He does not know why his father committed suicide and why and how his sister disappeared. His entire childhood is a fuzzy but scary memory which keeps terrorizing him. He is very conscious about the burn marks on his body, so never removes his shirt.