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Leisure > Bookshelf > Briefly 2012

Between the linesA touching story set in Tamil Nadu, THE TAMING OFWOMEN (Penguin; 299; 254 pages), by the first TamilDalit woman writer P Sivakami, holds a mirror to 'thechanging face' of rural India in the name of development.Pritam K Chakravarthy has ably translated the novel bykeeping it as close to the original and maintaining thetempo with his choice of words and usage of lingo. Thenames, expressions and dialects ooze regional flavour,which adds strength and originality to this work. The booknarrates the tenacious protagonist Anandhayi’stribulations in bringing up six children in a house whereher husband brings in new women to bed every night.Equations change when he brings home beautifulLakshmi as his second wife and simultaneously tries tohave a tight grip on the entire family through his violentways. With a befitting ending for a novel of this genre, theauthor brings home issues like gender inequality,exploitation of women and survival strategies acrossgenerations with great conviction.

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With CUT LIKE WOUND (HarperCollins, 299; 358 pages), Anita Nair of Ladies Coupé and The Better Manfame comes up with a riveting psychological thriller that keeps you guessing till the end. Maybe it’s herfamiliarity with literary fiction that enables Nair to flesh out detective Inspector Borei Gowda in an engagingmanner, anointing him with a dysfunctional family. Stumbling through a midlife crisis and tottering with a slightlybulging belly, Inspector Gowda, who enjoys his shots of Old Monk as much as his lines of inquiry, is irresistiblydrawn to his college sweetheart Lady Deviah, who is separated from her husband. That's just the periphery.Inspector Gowda and his rookie sidekick Santosh, on the lookout for a serial murderer, cut through theunderbelly of Bangalore, which could have been any other metropolitan city in India, reeking of illegalactivities, drugs, sex, transgenders and underhand deals. Having never attempted a thriller before, Nairsurprises with the ease with which she builds the plot and suspense. Having said that, this is more than awhodunit with a journey that takes you through the mental landscapes of the main players.

This book is a delight, whether you have read RuskinBond before or not. Using his characteristically elegantyet simple prose, Bond recreates a bygone era oframbling palaces, faithful servants, lonely foreigndiplomats and imperious nobles in MAHARANI(Penguin; 299; 180 pages). Equally characteristically,he draws vivid portraits of the changing seasons andnostalgic beauty of India’s mountain towns during asimpler, more gracious age. The engaging firstpersonnarrative is peppered with typically keen observationsand gentle but delightful humour, tracing both thecharms and absurdities of upperclass life in postIndependence India. And then, as his characters areeffortlessly fleshed out, beneath the surface emerges adramatic, meandering tale of suspense, pathos andpalace intrigue. This is coupled with a soft yearning forchildhood lost and an allpervasive love of a time whenautumn afternoons were spent trudging throughforested hills, sustained only by boiled eggs, crisp bunsand biscuits. The plot moves ever forward, aided bysuggestive silences, a shadowy nun and eerie scenes

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suggestive silences, a shadowy nun and eerie scenesthat seem straight out of a nightmare. An enjoyableread overall, and with its large print and pleasanttypeface, the reader's journey is over almost too soon.

Featured in Harmony – Celebrate Age Magazine December 2012

Between the linesIn a voice that is as fluid as it is forthright, Sudha Murtyoffers vignettes from her travels around the country andher encounters with Indians at home and abroad in THEDAY I STOPPED DRINKING MILK (Penguin; 199; 212pages). Most of the people featured in this book areordinary folk who make small but extraordinary decisionsthat begin to change lives in a way that Murty, havingspent decades driving the Infosys Foundation, must befamiliar with. These are not tales of heroic poverty orgrace under fire; just true stories of people, the authorincluded, who reminded themselves to follow their heartswhen it really mattered. For the reader, each short story—told in a voice totally devoid of selfcongratulation andcliché—ends almost too quickly, some in a heartwrenching flourish of pathos and humanity, others in asubtle lifting of a veil, offering just enough of a peek intoan unseen corner of India to remain unforgettable.

The

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Malayalee's migration to the Gulf in search of a better life is one of the cornerstones of the Great Indian Dream.Benyamin's GOAT DAYS (Penguin; 250; 255 pages), translated by Joseph Koyippally, is based on onesuch true story, ignited by dreams fuelled by the oil economy. Najeeb's predicament, originally told inMalayalam as Aadujivitam, went on to win the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2009. The pathos underlyingNajeeb's story is brilliantly brought home by the soliloquies. What work in large measure for the book are thewry humour and simple language that draw you into Najeeb's life and loneliness and keep you glued till theend. The book also has echoes of Paulo Coehlo's The Alchemist, with a shepherd as the main protagonist insearch of a great destiny. Compelling and calamitous, it's a story of faith, determination, survival and triumph ofthe human spirit against all odds.

Think of the last time you promised yourself a reward.What was it? A piece of chocolate, a new pair of shoes, anextra hour of TV? In THE FIX (Collins; 399; 279 pages),a compelling book by a recovering alcoholic, authorDamian Thompson argues that it is no accident that ourbrains crave consumer goods just as much as we oncecraved a hug, a smile or an extra hour with a loved one.Simplifying a number of medical theories on addiction,Thompson explains, for example, how the brain's reactionto a mother's embrace is almost identical to its reaction tocertain hard drugs, and how impulses of desire aretriggered by sound, smell, texture and sight. Bit by bit, hepieces together a revelatory theory as simple as it isterrifying: we are all at some point on the addictionspectrum. Most of us have no idea of this, and those of us

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spectrum. Most of us have no idea of this, and those of usthat do have, have no clue to the intricate mind gamesplayed by major corporations to influence our brains andthen our bodies to choose the 'addictions' they sell. It allhinges on the fact that desire/anticipation can be triggeredfar more easily than satisfaction. And yes, that is thereason you ate an entire box of chocolates last night—andregretted it immediately afterwards.

Featured in Harmony – Celebrate Age Magazine October 2012

On the shelfGurgaon is a microcosm of both what is right about India today, andwhat is very wrong. A wonderfully appropriate setting for NirupamaSubramanian's INTERMISSION (HarperCollins; 250; 273pages), which explores the contradictions that befall fragile lives ina brave new world. While hiflying corporate couple Varun andGayatri are readjusting to life in India with their teenage sonAnirudh, struggling with adolescence and angst, young motherSweety walks into their life and shreds the veneer of their perfectexistence. Subramanian has a keen understanding of familydynamics and her natural empathy for each of her characters

shines through the book. Adding further to the readability quotientis the wry humour—the author's observations on life in a gatedcommunity will leave those of you who have experienced itchuckling, and nodding in agreement.

Unarguably the mosticonic Indianadvertising campaign ofall time, Amul's 'UtterlyButterly Delicious'polkadotted cherubturns 50 this year (see'The Way We Were').AMUL'S INDIA (CollinsBusiness; 299; 212pages) is a toast to herimpact on a nation.Classic hoardings andsnippets are juxtaposed

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snippets are juxtaposedwith essays byprominent Indians—ranging from DrVerghese Kurien, thebrain behind theGujarat CooperativeMilk MarketingFederation, tonewsman RajdeepSardesai, cricketcommentator Harsha Bhogale and actor Amitabh Bachchan, himself the subject of many an Amul quip. (TheBig B actually confesses that he has collected every Amul hoarding that has featured him!) A delightful littlebook of vignettes that tells the story behind the campaign while chronicling the sociopoliticalcultural life of acountry, this one's a keeper. Utterly.

Legacy, patriarchy, coming of age and coming out of the closet areall themes that are interwoven in THE MAGICAL PALACE(HarperCollins; 399; 372 pages) by Kunal Mukherjee. Rahul'slove for Andrew in San Francisco doesn't preclude him from beinggrist for the arranged marriage mill back in India. While Andrewrefuses to let his lover live a lie, he soon begins to realise that hispartner's story is far more complicated that he can fathom, itsgnarled and tangled roots anchoring him to a past and a reality thathe finds incredibly difficult to pull away from. A sensitive read thatgathers steam as you turn the pages, this book goes beyond being'gay' literature—rather it's a study of eternal dilemmas that defyboundaries.

"Here is the Indian Foreign Service at its honest, understated andeffective best," writes national security adviser and former foreign

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effective best," writes national security adviser and former foreignsecretary Shiv Shankar Menon in his foreword to THEAMBASSADORS' CLUB – THE INDIAN DIPLOMAT AT LARGE(HarperCollins; 599; 330 pages), a collection of 16 essays byformer Indian ambassadors, each recounting a significant chapterin his career. Editor Krishna V Rajan writes about his own stint inNepal in an essay that appears to be more selfpromotion thanpolicy oriented; still, many of the others fare better. Like AMadhavan's riveting description of the fall of the Berlin Wall; L LMehrotra's account of the return of the Indian Peace Keeping Forcefrom Colombo; Jagat Mehta's intensive analysis of India's Chinapolicy; and Niranjan Desai's hairraising experiences in Idi Amin'sUganda. An engaging read for anyone with an interest in Indianforeign policy and how it has been translated into action around theworld.

Featured in Harmony MagazineAugust 2012

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