BOMBAY RAINS, BOMBAY
GIRLS – Anirban Bose 2013
On learning that I was going to
study medicine in Bombay, someone had said to me, ' You've got to see two
things in Bombay: the Bombay rains and the Bombay girls.'
When Adi - a small town eighteen
year old with a gaint inferiority complex lands a chance to study medicine in
big, bad Bombay, he is overjoyed. Although plagued by the thought that his
success is a fluke and hence ill gotten, he plunges headlong into the sights and
sound of this dazzling city.
Adi's initiation into college
life isn't the most promising...... A night of ragging by a bunch of sniggering
seniors brings him and his equally vulnerable batch mates close to tears.....
But gradually, he finds his feet in the world and makes friends with a motley
crew. He also has his heart broken and falls in love .....
Love, heartbreaks, fun, a bit of
studying, and finally getting serious about the career sprinkled with a lot of
my favourite city Bombay. Rains are the best in Bombay, however inconvenient
life gets during those months. Not a literary masterpiece, but a good read
specially during travel.
BREATHLESS IN BOMBAY -
Murzban F. Shroff 2008
Shroff’s vibrant narratives in
this concept collection of 14 stories set in contemporary Bombay feature a
range of beautifully drawn characters in fascinating situations: from the
laundrywallas’ water shortage problems, to the doomed love affair of a
schizophrenic painter and his Bollywood girlfriend, to the wandering thoughts of
a massagewalla at Chowpatty Beach, to the heart-warming relationship of a
carriage driver and his beloved horse. Each of these stories is richly crafted
and arranged against the grand chaotic backdrop of life that is Bombay.
Shroff's love for his hometown shines through, but so does his deep
understanding of its challenges and problems. The reader is afforded an
insider’s view of this pulsating city, and through an unforgettable emotional
and cultural journey comes to care for the characters presented in these
stories.
A well-mixed Bombay Bhel and some
food for thought as well!
Maximum City: Bombay
Lost and Found - Suketu Mehta 2004
It was a regular school day on a lovely
December morning(winters are warm not cold in Bombay. With just an hour left to
mid-morning recess, there was a sudden flurry of anxious announcements calling
certain students to report immediately with their belongings at the Principal’s
office. After being little nosy about the happenings I go back to my
daydreaming. Suddenly, I see my mother hurriedly demanding that I go and
collect my younger sister from her classroom. As I walk through the school
compound frantic parents rush in and out of the school premises with their
children. As we walk towards the car I see my father tensed and horrified to
some extent. He had just escaped death(which we knew later that evening. Four
men had hurled bombs in front of him at a nearby housing development while my
father was driving through traffic). A riot had broken in the streets nearby as
we frantically rushed home, I could see shutters closing at the speed of light,
people scattering, some flinging acid bulbs and destruction of harmless
developments. That was the day the Hindu-Muslim riots let a demon loose for
which innocents had to pay with their humble lives in the coming horrendous
months. I still remember those days vividly for I have been a front row
spectator to the bloodshed occurred in the name of religion ignited by few
political rivals. I lived among trepidations that lasted for years to come by.
Lost people I knew and religion once again became a crucial factor in our
mundane lives. The citizens of Bombay (I resist from calling it Mumbai, always)
bravely faced those murky days, which I witnessed closely with resilience and
banishing all prejudices imposed by political cults. Over decades the city has
seen its share of political violence and inter-religion hatred, but its people
have always made it through with smiling faces.
Bombay will always be my home
come what may. I have traveled around many superior worldly cities, yet the
imminent landing announcement at the Bombay airport somehow makes me warmly
smile every freaking time. The city is heavily crowded, poverty and richness
juxtaposes every road that spirals into politically corrupt governing display
of unreliable loyalties and prone to religious debates. But, this does not
define its landscapes, its populace. It is a city where dreams are built; life
is raw imparting valuable teachings of resilient determination, where people
smile even in the most tedious times, ethnicities are celebrated with
joyfulness and life is seen at it nastiest and its finest. It is a place where
I grew up and took long walks with my grandfather relishing every aspect of
this marvelous city. Bombay is not a place full of murderers or politically
agitated goons, it is haven of magnificent, soulful people who fight all odds
and nurture a ravishing tomorrow. Now, this is what I would term as “Maximum
City”.
Lastly, one question that
troubles me is why only those who bring together pessimistic opinions are the
ones who have stayed away from the core of Bombay nudging stereotypes in a
foreign land?
'Bombay Duck is a Fish'
- Kanika Dhillon 2011
My recent liking for Indian
authors took me to the 'Indian Fiction' section in Crossword. I picked up the
book 'Bombay Duck is a Fish' by Kanika Dhillon hoping to read some crazy
stories about the city I've lived in and experienced since past 7 years.
To wrap up the plot in few words,
its the story of an aspiring filmmaker Neki Brar who comes to Mumbai; "the
city of dreams" and lands a job as an assistant to a famous choreographer
turned director (no prizes for guessing who she is). Despite of finding the
right kick to start her career she keeps running into troubles. The book is
about all that Bollywood is infamous for; bloated egos, sleaze, wicked
co-workers etc. And a not-so-subtle mention of Shahrukh Khan whom she (the thin
line between the author and the character is smudged here) obviously idolizes.
When we first meet our heroine
Neki she is sitting on her terrace, wine bottle in hand. While contemplating
suicide she flicks the pages of her diary where she has documented all the
accidents of her life. As we continue we find out that our aspirant director
left a lucrative job to follow her dreams but the problem here is that I didn't
understand her motivation. She looks star struck from the very first day and is
already kissing (or rather being kissed by) the hot supporting actor Ranbeer
Khanna within the first week of her job.
As per her diary she is hated by
her co-workers because of the yellow shoes that she wore on the day of her
interview. Now, I know that film industry is full of shallow people but I have
yet to meet people who'll judge you from your shoes, that too good shoes.
She has moved to Mumbai for the
love of it but makes a fuss when a colleague (who also has a crush on her)
takes her on a tour. Her life in Mumbai revolves between the studio, Ranbeer
Khanna's van and Ranbeer Khanna's house, resulting in pregnancy and attempted
suicide. In short, Neki looks shallow to me and never for a single moment gains
my sympathy.
The film industry that Kanika has
created in the book is a tale that parents tell their children to scare them
off from the unimaginable path. If you are an aspirant filmmaker, film writer
or actor don't let your folks lay hand on this one. However, in this hell hole
where everyone is ready to bite the only people with a heart of gold are either
the extras or Shahrukh Khan and the super successful director.
'Bombay Duck is a Fish' indeed
but a sukkha bombil with not enough meat.
Love, Life & all
that Jazz - Ahmed Faiyaz 2010
Tanveer is waiting at the airport
for a much delayed flight to board. He realises that it has been a year since
he joined Oceania Bank and remembers the first week of college when he made
friends with Tania and Vikram.
The first day of college in
Bombay where Tania, Vikram, Sameer and Tanveer cross paths.
A week before Sameer leaves for
London for his MBA, Tanveer meets Sameer and Tania for a cup of chai at their
usual haunt and talk about the life ahead for them and their future plans. They
meet Naina and Vikram after a while and go out to party.
Sameer is adjusting to life in
Oxford and his new friends. His thoughts go back to the night before he left
Bombay when Tania and he spent some intimate moments and then went out with
Naina and Vikram for dinner.
Tanveer's first day in his new
job at the Bank. He begins to realise that his new life is going to be
completely different from the fun years in college. He remembers the day Sameer
left for London and the gang met at his place to help him pack.
The Great Depression of
the 40s: A Novel by Rupa Gulab 2010
The book opens with Mantra losing
her job as a journo because she reviews a restaurant in cutting rhyme: “While
the spaghetti was a bit of okay/The meatballs stubbornly bounced/They’re only
fit to be served at squash courts/And deserve to be severely trounced”. The
result of course is to leave Mantra with nothing much to do beyond speculate on
the state of her marriage, deal with her mother in law’s ghost (to be found in
the guest bathroom) and try to sort out everyone else’s problems, while
fielding her duties as corporate wife. Her driver Makarand is a Marathi Manoos
with political connections and the cook Reshmi insists on plain dull food which
is good for Mantra’s figure but bad for her morale.
Gulab has her finger on the pulse
of 40 somethings living in upper echelon Mumbai, with its unending discussions
of what’s more tony, the Atkins or the
South Beach diet, the nuances of acquiring limited edition pornographic DVDs
and whether one should have a toy boy. “Acquiring a toy boy is the height of
your ambition?’ Mantra squawked. ‘How crappy is that? How on earth would you
explain him to your house help? As a long lost shipwrecked son who’s scared to
sleep alone in the dark?”
It’s a world of gamesmanship, one
up manship and who can put up the best front, including calling in the office
canteen boy to masquerade as a butler at the CEO’s dinner. There are some witty
turns of phrase such as “She seriously believed that drinking wine was a
cultural accomplishment, on par with playing Mozart on the violin” and a use of
words like ‘luverly’ and ‘curmudgeon’
that add a charming old world flavour to the text.
What the book does require is
some depth in the relationships – Vir’s silence and the chemistry between the
two remain grey areas, as does Anjali’s marriage, though that is perhaps more
comprehensible, and the happy ending seems slightly rushed – perhaps the book
needed some more time before coming to an end.
Lucky Everyday: Bapsy Jain
Forced to flee Bombay when her
wealthy and charming husband divorces her and squashes her career, Lucky Boyce
feels defeated and desperate for respite. Fortunately, old friends welcome her
to New York where life begins with promise. Determined and trying to make a
difference, she volunteers to teach yoga to prison inmates. But with her
confidence in question and love starting to surface, a series of bizarre events
leave Lucky searching once again for answers. Is her journey through life
destined to be marred by duplicity and betrayal? Or does she simply need to
overcome her fears and look within for the strength to break free? A stunning
novel about one woman's struggle toward enlightenment, Lucky Everyday blends
the principles of yoga with a thoroughly modern take on the quest for a
fulfilled life.
"This beautiful story
travels from India to New York through the past and the present as Lucky
searches for meaning in her shattered life. One can’t help but feel compassion
toward this character even as her strength and will power inspire."
Kkrishnaa’s Konfessions
: Smita Jain 2008
Take a single young professional,
place her in Mumbai’s TV soap industry, throw in a murder and lots of
(traffic-jammed) chase scenes, introduce a handsome ex-best-friend and voilá –
you have a piece of desi chick-lit. If it sounds stodgily formulaic, rest
assured that Smita Jain’s racy Kkrishnaa’s Konfessions is actually a toothsome
devil’s food cupcake of a novel. The roguish streak running through this witty
detective comedy is due to Jain’s irreverent indulgence in oddly specific
stereotypes (creative directors are universally described thus: “short, fat,
chain-smoking bitch”), unabashedly frequent instances of deviant behaviour and
the feisty main character, Kkrishnaa herself.
Kkrishnaa, like her creator, is a scriptwriter
for teleserials and an amateur student of psychology. She’s also brazenly
competitive – to the point of suspecting fellow script-writer, closet
existential novelist and sexy love interest Dev Trivedi of plagiarising her
every line. While our heroine is secretly observing a swanky apartment block
for source material, the two happen to witness a celebrity murder.
As the bickering pair try to stay a step ahead
of the assassin, they hook up with a bumptious police inspector and a
stuttering CBI agent and stumble into webs of conspiracy spun by hypocritical
politicians, pimping swamis and adulterous housewives. Somewhere between
dodging bullets and seducing her seniors, Kkrishnaa discovers that she still
has feelings for former friend Dev, and that those feelings go beyond the
merely Platonic.
Despite the broad strokes with
which Jain paints her characters, this book is an engaging and offbeat caper.
Like Kkrishnaa’s scripts, it’s “convoluted enough to guarantee viewer interest,
but not to the extent of leaving them confused”. As the protagonist overcomesa
case of writer’s block by weaving the murder investigation into her serial, the
reader also notes that the book’s characters are thinly veiled allusions to
actual dons, gangsters and film stars. Jain liberally cartoonifies her
characters, but Kkrishnaa has the right blend of wit, sex and twists to keep
this reader interested – at least for a few hours. Sonal Shah
The Lost Flamingoes of
Bombay :: Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi
2010
When photographer Karan Seth
comes to Bombay intent on immortalizing a city charged by celebrity and
sensation, he is instantly drawn in by its allure and cruelty. Along the way,
he discovers unlikely allies: Samar , an eccentric pianist; Zaira, the
reclusive queen of Bollywood; and Rhea, a married woman who seduces Karan into
a tender but twisted affair. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, the four
lives are irreparably torn apart. Flung into a Fitzgeraldian world of sex,
crime and collusion, Karan learns that what the heart sees the mind's eye may
never behold. Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi's The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay is a
razor sharp chronicle of four friends caught in modern India 's tidal wave of
uneven prosperity and political failure. It's also a profoundly moving
On one level, this book has
everything: homosexuality, murder, the movies, love, passion, anger, hatred,
betrayal, tragedy. But for all that it seems curiously empty.
It has many ostensibly shocking
bits — the minister who lost his virginity to a buffalo and still fantasises
about that encounter, violent death, a fleeting reference to anal sex — but
even these lack resonance.
And though every Bombay cliché is
firmly in place — brittle society ladies, dingy bars, Chor Bazaar, Ban Ganga,
the traffic jams at Ganesh Chaturthi, the riots, hell, even the floods make
their requisite appearance at the end — the city still resolutely refuses to
come alive in the book.
The Story of My
Assassins - Tarun Tejpal
Tarun J Tejpal is a journalist,
publisher, and novelist. In a 26-year career, he has been an editor with the
India Today and the Indian Express groups, and the managing editor of Outlook,
India’s premier newsmagazine. In March 2000, he started Tehelka, a news
organisation that has earned a global reputation for its aggressive public
interest journalism.
In this India, democracy is a
bitter joke, the machinery of the state wide open to exploitation by those with
money, power and asses of iron. The only values to which nearly everyone in the
book pays homage (the exception being Sara, the righteously campaigning
mistress) are those of impermanence, equanimity and non-attachment pronounced
by Lord Krishna on the eve of battle in the Bhagavad Gita. And if the different
tales of which the novel is composed do not hang together, that's because India
itself does not, and cannot. "There was no big picture," the narrator
declares. "There were no grand connections. There were only endless small
pieces, and all you could do was to somehow manage your own ...."
*** A muscular, deeply incisive
and deathly funny comment on twenty-first century India, The Story of My
Assassins is a multi-layered novel that skillfully slashes through the
subcontinent’s dubious spiritual serenity to lay bare every crippling divide of
language, wealth and class. Trawling life and death in the dark underside, it
inquires into the inexorable codes of power and wealth that propel societies. A
triumph of disparate voices, unbearable realities, and impossible conundrums, this
is a book that will forever change the way we look at the world around us.
*** "This is a book of
multiple roads to brutality, of multiple explanations for the central event.
Policemen, crooks, village elders, journalists, venture capitalists, businessmen,
lawyers, street children, whores – no one escapes Tejpal’s sharp pen which he
sometimes uses like a caricaturist, at other times like a poet...The generation
of Vikram Seth, Rushdie, Amitava Ghosh, Rohinton Mistry, Arundhati Roy is still
writing and at the top of its form. But the literary equivalent of the
cricketing question, “Who after the Fab Four?” continues to be asked...by
taking on a big theme and finding in it a commentary on India – neither dark
nor shining, but merely a world that is what it is – Tejpal has staked a claim
to being taken more seriously than most others." - Mail Today
Of Course I Love You:
Till I Find Someone Better :
Durjoy Datta and Maanvi Ahuja
Of Course I Love You: Till I Find
Someone Better is a story of college days, love, heartbreak and reclamation of
a young man called Debashish Roy. Written by Durjoy Datta and Maanvi Ahuja,
Delhi’s life of nightclubs, bars and short-lived relationships is reflected in
this book with a gripping storyline. Debashish never believed in being a
serious relationship and had experienced numerous affairs with multiple girls.
His philosophy of life was to be happy, no matter what comes. Never ready to
take any stress or responsibility, Debashish met Avantika, a beautiful and
serious looking girl. A casual attraction became serious day by day as Avantika
started reciprocating Debashish’s feelings. for the first time in life, this
young man had fallen in love, which ended up painfully after Avantika
discovered his past. Confused and guilty, Debashish lost love and with nothing
more to lose, he took on a public job. The pain of not being able to forget
Avantika and a hope to get her back started changing Debashish, making him do
things nobody could believe he was capable of. With intriguing characters and
heart-rending events, this book provides a source of motivation for its
readers. The book has mixed flavors of love, fantasy, resentment and
adolescence compiled in one book. of Course I Love You: Till I Find Someone
Better was published by Penguin India in 2013 and is available in paperback.
Almost Single : Advaita
Kala
In a city where old is meeting
new, daughters are surprising mothers, and love is breaking all the rules, this
heartfelt and wickedly funny cross-cultural debut novel introduces a smart,
irreverent young woman searching for independence and matrimony in a culture
bound by tradition.
Between elegant soirees and the
occasional mortifying mishap, Aisha Bhatia’s job as guest relations manager at
New Delhi’s five-star Grand Orchid Hotel is intermittently fabulous—she
certainly knows her wines and cheeses. But despite a life filled with good
friends and first-class travel accommodations, the fact is that not many
twenty-nine-year-old women in India are single—as Aisha’s mother never fails to
remind her. Somewhere a clock is ticking, though as far as Aisha is concerned,
it can be cheerfully drowned out by laughter over a champagne brunch. Yet when
the handsomely chiseled Karan Verma arrives from New York, Aisha experiences an
unexpected attitude adjustment. Karan is everything she’s ever wanted…that is,
if she actually knew what she wanted. Is it possible that she’s about to find
out?
Savvy, sexy, and unforgettable,
Almost Single tackles the loving, exasperating tug-of-war between mothers and
daughters, traditional customs and contemporary romance—and what happens when a
modern Indian woman is caught in the middle.
Family Planning: Karan
Mahajan 2008
Family Planning centres around
the Ahuja family. The father, Rakesh, is Minister of Urban Development in India
(as a member of the KJSZP (H202) party), and also presides over a huge family,
a baker's dozen worth of children, with another on the way as the novel begins.
The son that gets the most attention in the book is the eldest, by four year,
Arjun.
The novel opens noting that Rakesh is
only attracted to his wife, Sangita, when she is pregnant -- hence the reason
for seeing to it that she is constantly in that state. Still, the marriage
seems to be working out fine enough, though with the constant bustle in the
house there's little time to really give much thought to anything, and everyone
-- Mr. and Mrs.Ahuja, but also Arjun -- seem very much preoccupied with their
own worlds in any case.
As it turns out, things are not entirely
straightforward. The Ahuja's marriage certainly didn't turn out anything like
they expected -- and Rakesh had, in fact, been married previously. Rakesh's
first wife died in America, and Arjun is the son from that union -- though he
has never been told that. But Rakesh thinks now is the time to clear that up.
Meanwhile, Arjun is going through typical teen phases -- he has a crush on a
girl, he forms a band, he's embarrassed by his family (and hasn't ever admitted
to any of his friends having anywhere near as many siblings as he does).
Mahajan has obvious talent, and it's a
relief that his debut manages to avoid many of the pitfalls of debut-fiction
(the tortured-adolescent storyline tempered by the adult side of things). It
doesn't add up to quite enough here, but the skill he displays with what he
works with here suggests once he has something more to write about he might
manage very well indeed.
Jaishree Misra was fascinated by
the mystery of Margaret Wheeler’s life, which she came across while researching
her historical novel, Rani. A British teen, daughter of a British General and a
Eurasian mother, Wheeler was kidnapped during the 1857 uprising and presumed
dead. She reappeared in the local narratives in the early 1900s when an old
Muslim woman admitted that she was Margaret Wheeler to a Roman Catholic priest,
during her deathbed confession. “I was too involved with writing Rani to give
this story more time but it interested me; what two women on different sides in
the same period underwent.”
In 2011, three books later, Misra
came back to Margaret Wheeler. Misra also located Amelia Horne’s journal at the
British archives; another teen who was abducted during the uprising but
returned. Amelia mentions how Margaret stayed on with her abductor, ostensibly
in marriage, refusing to return. “I always wondered how Margaret could
willingly stay with the man who was a part of the incidents that mutilated her
whole world,” says Misra.
Misra’s books are in the news for
other reasons too. Almost all her books have been translated into Malayalam,
where she has a huge fan following. And the latest is that the film rights to
Ancient Promises have been sold. “Half the story happens outside Kerala, so I
can’t see yet how it can be made entirely in one language,” she muses. But with
ace director Ranjith Balakrishnan expected to direct it, this could be a film
to watch for. That’s definitely good news for the fans of both the writer and
the director!
LESSONS IN FORGETTING: ANITA NAIR 2010
A beautifully told story of
redemption, forgiveness and second chances Meera, the protagonist of the
novel is a housewife and a writer for the society people. (Read cookery,
etiquette for parties etc.) One fine
day, she went to a party with her husband and child but realise that the
husband run away from her life, searching for greener prospects. Struggling to face the new challenge with
all emotional burdens, Meera meets an equally desperate person, Jak (JA
Krishnamurthy). JAK was deserted by his
wife but had to look after his daughter who is in very bad shape right now,
thanks to the society. Two stories
which are interlinking in occasions are told in this novel; One of Jack's and
one of Meera's. The characters and
situations interlink but in essence they stand separated altogether, except
that the nature of fate is the same for them.
'Lessons in forgetting' is about
losing family values. It is about the
perspective we maintain while entering the institution called marriage. Giri marries Meera with an eye on her
ancestral property. The property
actually is of rental which Meera don't tell the partner. Root of separation was there before marriage
and it took many years and two children to get away from the mask. Jake on the other hand was nurturing his
feeling for India but he didn't consider the international life his wife was
looking for. The ego clash takes on the
children and now they are paying the price.
The insecure marriage arrangement in modern days is nothing but disaster
invited for future.
'Lessons in forgetting' is about
feminism, the modern way. The slogan of
feminist writers these days is very funny.
Don't expect a 'virgin body' in marriage. Even if you got one, don't think that it is
your private property and she may use it for her own purpose and
satisfaction. If she goes with another
man, it is your inability and she has a right for that. At the same time, if
her husband goes to another woman, she cannot stand that and will cry foul big
way. Pre marital sex is almost a must
and if you do some adultery which is perfectly understandable. I have read writers who write the above
ideas, almost in the very real sense. In
Lessons in forgetting, Anita Nair presents a character who thinks the same way.
Yes, she carries the hypocrisy with
her. She will preach you about how you
have to look at other woman, like your daughter and mother and worry about the
growing daughter. At the same time she
will not keep her emotions under control even to young boys. She conveniently forgets that she has a boy
child as well. The author reminds us
that this is not an easy go. When you
forget your family life, the silence will not last forever but it will form an
eye of cyclone which will not leave without giving some lessons to
remember. If one closely looks at it,
whenever Meera was a bit involved with an eye for flirting, something hard
hitting arrives to hit Meera, in the novel.
No comments:
Post a Comment