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BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS by KATHERINE BOO

2012, Indian Authors, Non Fiction, Reviews 2 Responses »

Mar 282012

There have been few books that have moved me as much as this extraordinary book by the Pulitzer prize winning journalist Katherine Boo.

It is a stunning read, and one that every thinking Indian should read - well, not just Indians, everyone who has a heart and a conscience should read it, but to Indians it will have a special resonance. And it should be mandatory for everyone in Mumbai.

Ms Boo chronicles the lives of some of the dwellers of Annawadi, a Mumbai slum, close by the airport but a lifetime apart from the world of travel and hotels and leisure as it is possible to imagine.

As a respected, award-winning journalist, Ms Boo invested years in this book, visiting the slum so frequently that the inhabitants soon ceased really noticing her as an outsider. They all had their tragically difficult lives to get on with, scraping together every paise they could find to try and keep body and soul together, so there was little time for sitting and staring at a foreigner.

And so, for years, Ms Boo visited, talked, watched, observed, interviewed, recorded, filmed, checked, cross-checked - and then some.

And the result is this amazing expose of life at the bottom of the pile. Literally, since we meet scavengers, children who collect rubbish for a living. We meet people who have a just-about home – rickety huts next to mounds of sewage. Life doesn’t get much worse than in Annawadi.

Ms. Boo’s narrative is quite simply extraordinary, when you realise (and this is not a plot spoiler, by the way) that her book is not a work of fiction, but 100% pure fact. Everyone of those slum dwellers, corrupt officials, bribe-taking policemen, venal nursing staff - every man jack of the exists. And is named.

This book pushes reporting about poverty and corruption in India to a whole new level.

And throughout this compelling, albeit oftentimes heart-breaking chronicle, you never for a moment glimpse the presence of the writer, Ms Boo. She does not insert herself into the narrative for even a fleeting moment. She sits, listens, observes and lets the children and adults of Annawadi do the talking.

And how they talk. Here is the ambitious Asha, who sees politics as the way out of the desperate poverty of the slum :

Her dutiful daughter Manju, the girl hoping to be the first female graduate from the slum, studies hard, though often not really undertsanding everything she is being supposedly taught. So she “by-hearts” everything :

Asha is the ultimate pragmatist, banking everything on the success of her daughter, for who she has words of advice :

The inhabitants of this appalling slum lead equally appalling lives of deprivation and degradation, tempered by a weary awareness that there may well be a better world out there. It’s just not for them. They see the airport and the airport hotels and the flashy cars, but always through the prism of what rubbish and garbage this brave new glittering world may leave behind for them, the bottom of the social pile. The rag-pickers and scavengers.

I have to say that after reading this sensational book, I look at the filth and rubbish that lies all around my Delhi nighbourhood with a slightly different view. I loathe the rubbish. But then again, I would, wouldn’t I ? It is a blight for me, not a business opportunity.

I found the criticism of the Cooper Hospital amazing, because 20 years ago, when I lived in what was then Bombay, I had to take the illiterate, non-Hindi-speaking wife of one of my Nepalese staff there for some unidentified stomach complaint, which our local GP couldn’t identify.

When I went to admit her, I nearly died.

A waiting room full to busting with hundreds of poor Indians, row after row after row, all waiting patiently. One tiny hole behind a thick grille into which you had to contort yourself to speak.

Everyone told me “They are closed for lunch”.

But, I hate to admit it, I played the foreign card. My woman was writing in agony, as were many other people in the waiting room, by the way. People were bleeding too.

I marched right to the head of the queue, to the quiet, weary smiles of everyone else waiting - why are Indians so consistently polite to foreigners ? - and when the person behind the thickly grilled window said, in Hindi, “Closed,” I played my second card. That’s the one where I pretend I can’t speak any Hindi, and act appallingly stupid to boot, not understanding basic hand gestures and facial expressions.

I’m not proud.

So I walked behind the counter, pushed open his cubicle door, and insisted my poor Nepalese lady got admitted.

Eventually they did admit her, mainly to get rid of me, I suspect, because I just stood there talking louder and louder, until she was taken off to the ward.

I remember we had to provide all medicines and food, and I also remember throwing a scene at the state of the bed-sheets, making them strip the filthy many-times-used ones and put clean ones on for her.

So clearly some things haven’t changed in 20 years.

I’ve told this Cooper Hospital story many times over the years, but never has it resonated the way it did when reading this book.

When the poor of Annawadi die, there is little reason to pay them any more attention in death than in life :

There isn’t an aspect of the world about them that doesn’t seem to exploit the poverty and lack of status of these slum-dwellers. The police, NGOs, hospitals, social workers, even Sister Paulette - they all abuse or ignore these people. I loved the vignette of the Congress party workers delivering manhole covers, just before the elections - and then promptly taking them back for use in another slum.

Do yourself a favour and read this amazing book. It’s not always an easy read. Beautifully written, incisively observed, but the subject matter is searing and uncomfortable at times.

“Behind the Beautiful Forevers” (the title is delicious, once you understand what it means) is published by Hamish Hamilton and the hardback costs Rs499

URBAN SHOTS BRIGHT LIGHTS Edited by PARITOSH UTTAM

2012, Fiction, Indian Authors No Responses »

Mar 162012

This collection of 29 short stories, written by 21 authors, is a mixed bag – as one would naturally expect. There are stories that are quite clever, ones that are sad and moving, others that are a little pedestrian and contrived, and one that is outstanding.

I’ll leave that one till the end.

There is a nice regional spread in the stories. The urbanisation of Bangalore is the backdrop for Ahmed Faiyaz’s poignant “Mr. Periera” describing a world where neighbours still - just about - know each other and are proud of each other’s achievements and care for each other, despite the rapid pace of change taking place around them.

“Alabama to Wyoming” by “Paritsh Uttam” is a well-observed but sad story, about a young man who is kind and helpful and ends up being a figure of fun. You the reader share in Sid’s shame, as he hears the mocking words he is not supposed to hear.

What I found interesting was that quite a number of stories dealt with extra-marital affairs and lovers, which is already quite a revelation. Urban India is changing rapidly, and nothing illustrates this as clearly as the sexual behaviour of the middle class characters in a story such as Salil Chaturvedi’s “Silk”. Lying being massaged by the gossipy Sarada, Priyanka hears about her friend’s affair. It’s quite a clever device. She knew her friend had been away on a holiday, but little did she realise the ramifications, so as she lies there being massaged, she joins all the dots together, and learns about the darker side of her friend Malini’s affair. I quite liked this story, though I didn’t quite understand the ending.

“Double Mixed” by Namita V Nair is also about extra-marital affairs, but the plot is slicker than the previous story, making the ending clever and not at all predictable.

“Across the seas” another story by Ahmed Faiyaz seemed to speak of a slightly more old fashioned India. An India that moves at a a slower pace - writing letters, waiting for a telephone connection, sending jars of pickles to the US via a friend - all slightly timeless, but charming none the less.

“Paisley Printed Memories” by Sneh Thakur was my second favourite story (I’m saving the best till last), and a clever, moving one, too. Her descriptions of the build-up to the wedding, with the baraat arriving while the bride-to-be gets ready inside her house is well-done and the bitter-sweet twist at the end of the tale makes it a poignant read.

The opening story, “Amul” by Arvind Chandrashekhar is clever, but I’m not quite sure that I “got” it. I think the little girl has cancer. She is apparently in Class V yet uses the word “damn” which puzzled me. I liked the story, but something didn’t ring true in the language for me.

Which brings me to the head-and-shoulders-above-the-rest star of this collection. “The Interview” by Manisha Lakhe is beautifully written, in descriptive prose that has you sitting with the author in the Mumbai taxi in the rain, while the taxi-driver squeezes the car into impossible spaces, talking all the while, to the soundtrack of the windscreen wipers. Ms Lakhe doesn’t try and fit too much into the story, and by telling it from the perspective of a conversation between just 2 characters, the reader is better able to concentrate on her great use of language.

This is exactly what a short story should be. A beautifully neat well-written little gem.

In the introduction, the editor writes “A word of advice – give each story breathing space, before you begin the next one.” Sound advice. This is a collection to be dipped into at will, and returned to at will.

Published by Grey Oak, the paperback costs Rs 199.

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DELHI 14 HISTORIC WALKS by SWAPNA LIDDLE

2011, History, Indian Authors, Non Fiction, Travel 2 Responses »

Feb 092012

Having gone on several heritage walks in Delhi led by the historian Swapna Liddle, I was particularly interested in this book, which is a welcome and very worthwhile addition to any Delhi lover’s library.

As the title implies, Ms Liddle takes you, the reader, on 14 historic walks through the city, in which she describes in great detail the sights and sites, “guiding” you and allowing you to wander on your own using her book as your companion. The walks she has chosen include lesser known areas such as Janahpanah, as well as absolutely classic Delhi must-see places such as the Red Fort and Qutb Minar, which are on every tourist’s itinerary.

The author’s reason for including these better-known Delhi sites is disarmingly frank :

This is the sad reality of much of the (non) signage at Delhi’s monuments, making this book even more useful.

Ms Liddle’s approach to choosing each of her chosen walks is practical.

Again, quoting her own words :

” It should be a fairly pleasant walk – I have left out the particularly litter-strewn or overgrown paths.”

Given the parlous state of much of the city, I couldn’t agree more with her pragmatic approach.

Each chapter starts with a simple but detailed map of the walk (more on the maps in a moment) followed by an eminently practical listing of such information as the opening times, the cost of entry tickets, the closest metro stations and, very sensibly, the difficulty level of the walk. And, super sensibly for Delhi, Ms Liddle also provides details of what amenities are available – water, snacks and that all important loo.

So, armed with these practical details, the author then describes in great detail but in clear, easy prose, the main things to see as you wander through, say, Mehrauli Archeological Park, or Hauz Khas, or through the Lodi Gardens. Each main monument, or vista, or church or tomb has a number which refers back to the map. The maps are clear and simple to follow, and provide names for places which many a better guidebook has failed to do. Thanks to Ms Liddle, I now know that those two tombs opposite Aurobindo Place Market, the outliers of the wonderful Hauz Khas complex, are actually called the Dadi-Pito or Biwi-Bandi.

The author explains architectural terms simply, for the layman, and wears her obvious scholarship and knowledge lightly, and in a charmingly un-stuffy way. The book is easy and pleasant to read, with an easy-going style, not like reading a standard guide book at all. Rather, you feel as though you are wandering through Chandni Chowk, or the Red Fort, or Safdarjung’s Tomb with a knowledgeable friend, who is gently pointing out things you might otherwise have missed.

If it doesn’t sound silly, the book is also quite light to hold, making you much more likely to pop it in your bag when you set out to on a walk.

I know I certainly shall.

This book is going to go with me as I re-explore the by-lanes of Chandni Chowk, and take another walk down Rajpath from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhawan, learning more at the Lutyens Baker relationship as I stroll.

Published by Westland, “14 Historic Walks” costs Rs 495.

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DELHI DURBAR by SUNIL RAMAN & ROHIT AGARWAL

2011, History, Indian Authors, Non Fiction, Reviews 2 Responses »

Dec 172011

This week, New Delhi officially turned 100 years old.

On 12 December 1911, at the Delhi Durbar, in front of maharajahs, rajahs, princes, and thousands of British and Indian citizens, King George V made an announcement that would have major repercussions for India.

The capital city was going to be moved from Calcutta to Delhi.

And thus New Delhi would come into existence as an imperial city.

Fast forward 100 years, and New Delhi 2011 chose virtually to ignore the centenary.

Mutterings about the rights and wrongs of celebrating imperialism masked the plain fact that the venue for the 1911 Durbar, Coronation Park, is a shambles, renovation work incomplete, deadlines missed. This is not the place to discuss how a city can be years behind on deadlines, with no outcry and no accountability – but just remember that some projects for the 2010 Commonwealth Games are still languishing unfinished.

So, Delhi, thank goodness for Sunil Raman and Rohit Agarwal.

They have written a lavishly illustrated book about the 1911 Durbar, which as a stand alone event - with or without the moral issues of colonialism – deserves to be commemorated. The Durbar happened. It is a fact of history. It brought New Delhi into being. It was an event of long-lasting historical importance.

And more than anything else, it was an utterly fabulous, glorious expression of all that was best in royal and imperial India - ceremony, pageantry, clothes, jewels, titles, fanfares – and this lovely book brings out the full flavour of it all.

The authors, both passionate, hands-on historians, do not debate the rights or wrongs of spending a mind-boggling fortune on the Durbar. They do not enter into the politics of Delhi vs Calcutta. They simply recount the amazing, dazzling story of how a dusty area of north India was transformed into a tented city, and became home to one of the most fabulous gatherings ever in India – the first time all the ruling prices came together.

The scale of the Durbar is staggering, even 100 years later :

“A temporary tented city was to be set up, spread over 45 sq miles. It was to last over a week, see around 150 ruling chiefs, feudal lords and zamindars in attendance, along with officials, and witnessed by at least 100,000 ordinary people. The 1911 Durbar was to be the most expensive and the most ambitious Durbar ever organized and, as it happened, over 900,000 pounds sterling were spent on it…

…Spread over 25 sq km, the Durbar Camp was to have 475 separate camps, with a total of 40,000 tents. Each camp was to be a city in itself, with arched entrances, gardens and enclosures. Apart from the King’s Camp, there were provincial camps headed by British Governors or Lt. Governors, camps of the Maharajahs and Princes, and the Government of India Camp.

All the tents were carpeted, furnished, warmed with stoves, and lit with electric bulbs.
Every Indian chief was to have his separate camp, which was like a mini city with all amenities, including a bazaar.

Clear directions were given to officials that nothing be done that was contrary to Indian customs. Cows managed by Brahmans ensured the supply of fresh milk to each camp. separate hospitals, a separate magistrate, and a separate police system ensured the independence of each camp under the overarching control of the British administrators.”

This is the story of a unique event, and the authors tell it with unbridled enthusiasm and love for their subject matter. There are plans and drawings, articles and ads from the newspapers of the day, bills, receipts, and wonderful, absolutely gorgeous photographs to accompany the story of how the Durbar was conceptualised, planned, and carried out.

The ruling Indian princes needed careful handling, so that there would be no clash of egos in their comings and goings and dealings with the King Emperor. There were sensibilities galore to be accommodated. There were logistics on a massive scale to be handled.

And so the days of spectacle and pageantry flowed on smoothly and almost perfectly choreographed.

But there was the occasional headache.

The durbar tent burned down a few days before the event.

Her Majesty the Queen didn’t want the King to ride an elephant in procession – “Elephant Snubbed” was the wonderful newspaper headline.

And then there were problems with the tent for a royal dinner one night :

“The banqueting tent offended against the elements of sanitary science in the matter of ventilation; and it must be added as a warning for future occasions that being very long, very narrow and low, it presented neither a dignified nor an inviting appearance.”

For me, though, the biggest treat in the book is the photography. Wonderful black and white photos - and even a startling, very early colour photo – bring to life the sheer gorgeousness of this extraordinary event.

Delhi, and every lover of history, can thank Sunil Raman and Rohit Agarwal for this well-written, super well-documented book.

Published by Roli Books. Rs 495 for an attractively bound hardback.

UNLEASHING GENIUS by DILIP MUKERJEA

2011, Indian Authors, Non Fiction, Reviews No Responses »

Dec 132011

This fat, distinctly jolly looking book is just crying out to be placed under the Christmas tree, waiting to bring fun and new skills to children of all ages.

Although the target audience is, I suspect, school children and teenagers, there are so many useful skills to be learned from this book that everyone should enjoy leafing through it.

Dilip Mukerjea has already written several other books which teach you how to acquire, in his own words, “brain skills for the 21st century.” In “Unleashing Genius” the author takes us, chapter by chapter, on a journey where we learn how to remember better, how to solve problems, how to read more efficiently, and all done in a fun, easy way. There are masses of brightly coloured illustartions, most of them comic-y in feeling, which gives the book more of a child feel than an adult feel, but this reviewer found plenty to think about.

The first chapter “The Brain” leads naturally to a chapter on “Memory Boosting” and then “Mind Mapping.” It was when I read the section on meeting people, that I realised that the author is definitely writing for all ages, since everyone of us can benefit from useful tips on how to meet and greet people for the first time and, most importantly, remember their names afterwards. The trick is, apparently, to repeat the person’s name and to look for an outstanding feature on their face “to make them effortlessly recognisable’

We learn about the Major System for numbers, which was developed as far back as 1648 by Stanislaus Mink von Wennsshein, but is here explained with cartoons and fun mnemonics such as shining frisbee and pregnant goalkeeper. In a world where increasingly we all have long lists of pin numbers and log in codes to remember, tricks to help are always useful. By the end of the section on recaling numbers, the author has helped the reader remember a 20 digit sequence, which should safely see us all through the most complicated of on-line log ins.

There’s a cute memory test which the author tells us is for adults. It’s the recipe for a Singapore Sling. We are supposed to memorise it for 5 minutes, and see if we can recall it a day, a week, a month and even a year later. He then converts the recipe, using the Major System for numbers, to help recall what it takes to make the perfect cocktail – 30ml Gin becoming 3 mice, and 15ml Cherry Brandy becoming a towel. yes, I know, it sounds as though I;ve had too many Singapore Slings, but it will all make sense once you learn the mnemonics.

From working the brain and the mind, the author moves onto reading dynamics, which help people to read faster and more efficiently. As Dilip Mukerjea says in this chapter “The people who get ahead in the Information Age are those who are able to assimilate large chunks of information accurately and swiftly.” Even if you have always thought you can’t draw, the chapter on Creativity will soon rid you of any artistic inhibitions you might have by teaching you how to draw circle doodles.

I got slightly carried away when reading my review copy of the book, when I came across 6 pages in the middle of a chapter that were printed upside down and back-to-front. “Ah,” I thought, “a new learning technique. A new way of viewing problems” – but I hink the banal truth was that those 6 pages were nothing more than printed upside down and back-to-front !

Conclusion? A fun book for youngsters which will be read with equal enjoyment by their parents.

And the recipe for a Singapore Sling is…?

Published by Westland, this big far-larger-than-usual paperback costs Rs 1195.

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THE HABIT OF WINNING by PRAKASH IYER

2011, Indian Authors, Non Fiction, Reviews No Responses »

Nov 072011

“The Habit of Winning” is a self-help motivational book but with a distinct Indian masala twist, which will most definitely appeal to the Indian reader.

Prakash Iyer has written an easily readable, crisply written book, divided into handy bite-sized chapters.

He draws on his years in corporate management to pass on his own tips for success, for self-actualisation, for motivation, all done in a concise, snappy style. He uses the technique of a story-teller, making each of his points about positivity, perserverance, confidence building via a story or an anecdote. Each short chapter has its own piece of advice, which is then summarised in a one or two sentence conclusion, almost like a mantra you can memorise and carry with you. There is a variety of stories, each one forming a chapter : inspirational anecdotes about the likes of Ratan Tata and Winston Churchill, Gandhi-ji and a newer icon, Michelle Obama, about NBA basketball players and even the legendary story of Dastur Neryosang Dhaval, who led the first group of Zoroastrians to India in AD 755.

With his cosmopolitan mix of stories, some Indian-themed, some are global stories, and some are personal anecdotes, Mr Iyer keeps reiterating his mantra that everyone can become a winner.

There is a nice story about the legendary Michale Phelps, who won eight gold medals for swimming in the Beijing Olympics. After an injury in 2007, we learn how this determined, focused young man continued to practise in the pool, despite having his arm in plaster. Unable to swim using his arms, he worked especially hard on his leg muscles. Analysis of his 7th gold medal win, by the heart-stopping 1/100th of a second’s margin over his rival (poor fellow, by the way) would show that in the final 5 metres, Phelps’ super strong leg actions clinched the race and the gold medal.

The moral of this ultimate feel-good story is clear : “When you are down and in trouble keep fighting. Don’t give up. Keep kicking.” Literally.

A story like this is easy to relate to, and it’s also easy to extract Mr. Iyer’s message.

I particularly liked Mr. Iyer’s own personal story about flying kites as a 6 year old little boy in Jaipur. He loses his kite because he doesn’t tie a knot around the tin of Cherry Blossom shoe polish which he uses to wrap his kite string around. Rather endearingly, he tells us that he didn’t actually know how to tie a knot at that young age. He uses this anecdote as an illustration of how to handle people in a team - just as you (apparently - I didn’t know this) make a kite fly higher by pulling it towards you, so you let people working for you soar, by pulling them towards you with care and interest.

If it doesn’t sound odd, one of the things that I like about the book is the fact that the chapter are short and to the point. You can dip in and out of the book, read one or two chapters, and then take time to think them over.

I also love his chapter titles, some of which entice you to read them simply because they are so quirky sounding : “Who stole my cookies ?” “Lessons in survival from frogs and Phelps.” “Don’t change your rabbit.” And my personal favourite : “Catching fish with strawberries and cream.”

A feel-good read.

Published by Penguin, “The Habit of Winning” costs Rs 299.

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SONIA GANDHI by RANI SINGH

2011, Biography, Indian Authors, Non Fiction, Reviews 2 Responses »

Oct 172011

I was beyond excited to get my hands on a preview copy of the biography of the leading political figure in India. Living in Delhi, as I do, we hear and read about Sonia-ji (and Rahul-ji) day after day. Their every move is reported upon, usually in breathless, uncritical prose. Yet very little is actually known about them, beyond the bare, essential facts.

So I had high hopes from this biography. I wanted to better know the woman who is de facto in charge of the country where I live.

Alas, these hopes were dashed.

This is not a book that is going to tell you much you didn’t already know about Madam (as the Indian press often describes her) and that is precious little in itself. This book will better serve the reader who is not fully immersed in India, as your reviewer is. For such a reader, this slightly rose-tinted walk through Sonia’s life and times in India will, no doubt, be interesting.

Rani Singh has meticulously researched Indian contemporary political history, which is an integral and indispensible part of the Gandhi story. Daughter-in-law of Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, who was herself the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minster of India. Married to Rajiv Gandhi, who would “succeed” his mother as PM, when she was assassinated, Rajiv himself was killed in 1991. Politics was the life-blood of the family into which she married, a young Italian girl, whose French was better than her English in the early days of her marriage.

It is true, no question about it, that to go from a traditional, small-town, middle-class Italian background to being the leading political figure in the world’s largest democracy is no mean feat. It is no mean feat at all.

It is true, no question about it, that Sonia Gandhi has had more than her fair share of tragedy, which she has borne with dignity.

But after reading the biography, which was not an authorised one, and so the biographer did not actually meet Mrs Gandhi, I am no closer to understanding Sonia-ji, a woman who says very little, but whose actions have far-reaching implications for all of us living here.

The earlier chapters of the book, covering the years when Sonia and Rajiv met in England, their marriage and their first years in India have more than a hint of romantic prose about them.

“In an instant, Sonia’s and Rajiv’s destinies has changed, and a new dawn was breaking in their lives” - that kind of thing.

But then, to be fair, there are tantalising little glimpses into her life.

We learn that a politician gave her a copy of Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.

We learn that on a holiday in the Lakshwadeep Islands, Rajiv and Rahul “often dressed in blue-and-white nautical-style beach wear.”

We even find out what flavour of juice they both drank at a reception in the late 1980s (coconut water for her, lime juice for him, by the way)

But what we never get is anything that defines Sonia other than a reflection of her husband, a keeper-alive of his legacy, and as a devoted mother to two children (adults now) who are always described in glowing terms. The people to whom the biographer spoke have nothing but praise for Sonia.

The very fact of dynastic politics goes largely unquestioned :

“Though many circles are unhappy with the concept of dynastic leadership, it is a worldwide phenomenon, and dynastic heirs are deeply conscious of the preservation of values as assets.”

This is from the epilogue, when Ms Singh looks at Rahul, who may well take over from his mother. And thus another generation of the same family may well be in charge of the country’s political future.

Read the book to get up to speed on Indian politics. It’s an easy read, pleasantly written.

But what you will not really learn, sadly, is anything really new about Sonia Gandhi.

I know that I wanted to find out what really makes this enigmatic woman tick, but she remains as much as an enigma.

Published by Palgrave Macmillan, the hardback costs $26

The (In)eligible Bachelors

2011, Fiction, Indian Authors, Reviews 8 Responses »

Sep 292011

Oh dear.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.

I am genuinely torn between being polite and being honest.

I was sent a review copy of this début novel, so I really really would like to be polite (to the publisher) and encouraging (to the author).

But the fact of the matter is, that I thought Ruchita Misra’s “The (In)eligible Bachelors” none of the things the blurb promised me. “A riotous adventure of adrenaline, laughter and guffaws” (really, guffaws) it most certainly was not.

Basically, the novel - written in the form of diary entries - chronicles the attempts by our heroine, 24 year old Kasturi, to thwart her mother’s plans to arrange a marriage for her. She moves to Delhi, makes new friends, falls in love, but still her mother controls her every move like a puppet master, phoning her to tell her whom to meet and what to wear. Which Kasturi inevitably does, despite her misgivings.

There are lots of stereotypes : mother obsessed by arranged marriages. Plucky best friend. Dorky men. Swoon-worthy boss. Evil rickshaw-wala. Accidents. Kind doctor. It all seems a tad dated, despite being set against a backdrop of non-stop sms-ing and facebook-ing.

I have decided to be nice to the author and blame all the sloppy writing on poor editing.

From roughly the middle of the novel, the standard of writing seemed to slip, so as to whether it was the editing, proof-reading - who knows ?

All the bits of paper sticking out below are grammatical errors…

On one page alone, just one page, we have the following howlers :

“with eyes glued on his blackberry” – ouch, poor eyes. And no capital B.

“as he heard of the incumbent arrival of x” - surely the word should be imminent ?

“Rajev sir exclaimed in the same precipitated tone” – usually the character’s name is written as Rajeev (so this must be sloppy editing, right ?) but as for a precipitated tone ?

I could go on, but I won’t, as there are far too many such examples.

Well done to Ms Misra for writing and getting her novel published. She is clearly observant of Delhi people and manners, and has an ear for the nuances of speech. I look forward to her next novel, which I hope for her sake, will be more tightly edited.

“The (In) eligible bachelors” is published by Rupa and the paperback costs Rs 195

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50 PEOPLE WHO STUFFED UP SOUTH AFRICA by ALEXANDER PARKER

African authors, Indian Authors, Reviews No Responses »

Aug 112011

What I want to know is, how did Mr. Parker get away with writing such an utterly gripping, but desperately naughty book as this ?

How is he not being hauled up for libel or slander or whatever it is that famous people do, when they are publicly described as – and I quote - ” egomaniac: ; traitor ; twat ” ? Kevin Pietersen, take a bow.

No seriously, how does Mr. Parker do it ?

I have sat in the Kruger Park, these last 3 days, riveted by this brilliant book about a country I love dearly - reading a book that, well, that title tells you everything you need to know, really.

I used to live in South Africa, so although not a Saffer, I know the country pretty well, and this book had me enthralled.

It is a beautifully written romp through colonial stuff-ups (Bartle Frere, take a bow) and recent-ish politicians - that would be you, ex-President Thabo Mbeki (who was “my” President, so I know exactly where Mr.Parker is coming from).

I cheered - sort of – when I read Mr. Parker’s section about Dr Death, the infamous Manto Tshabalala-Msimang. That wretched woman was Health Minister when I lived in this glorious country, and to think that she told the hundreds of thousands of AIDS victims who died on her watch to eat beetroot…well, it’s fitting that she is part of this Rogues Gallery. It’s the leasy she deserves.

It obviously helps if you are a Saffer, or know the country well, but this book is nevertheless a master class in elegantly-written character assassination.

I couldn’t possibly pick a favourite, out of such a deliciously horrid cast of characters.

I couldn’t.

I really couldn’t…

…well, OK, since you insist…

Sepp Blatter ?

Sol Kerzner ?

Hansie Cronjie (that’s because I had to explain to my children why he was crying on TV)

Steve Hofmeyr ? (that’s just because)

OK, if I can only quote only one out of these 50 stuffer-upperers as my absolute favourite, then is has to be Julius Malema.

Read this absolutely delicious intro and I dare you not to rush out and buy the book, Saffer or not :

“Julius Malema’s a fat little man. How he got fat is obvious. He’s fat because he’s got lots of government-tender money and has no class whatsoever, and the classless rich always get fat.”

Quite takes your breath away, doesn’t it ?

I love this book, and am giving it as Christmas pressies to those of my South African friends who may (God knows why) not yet have read it.

Published by Two Dogs, the paperback costs R 169.00

BESIEGED by Mahmood Farooqui

2010, Indian Authors, Non Fiction, Reviews No Responses »

Nov 022010

Does a reviewer have a moral obligation to finish a book ?

If so, then this review must carry a caveat. Half way through, mired down by too much information, and too heavy a writing style, this reviewer abandoned “Besieged”.

The writer has done a hugely impressive job of tracking down and translating hitherto unseen papers from the First Indian War of Independence/Indian Mutiny of 1857. He has read, translated, catalogued and shared with his reader thousands of letters and fragments of correspondence written by the many people caught up on the side-lines of the epic struggle of the colonial British for domination in India.

There are requests for money for troops, complaints from the very same troops about unpaid wages. There are requistion orders, legal hassles, reports of blocked drains – no detail of the minutiae of Delhi life in the turbulent days of 1857 is too small to be excluded.

Wherein lies one of the flaws of this impressive scholarly work. There is almost too much information, and since it is arranged by theme, after a while it gets – sad to say – a wee bit “same -y”.

It is all to easy to be an armchair expert, but this body of material is just crying out to be a novel.

The clichéd “cast of thousands” is already assembled here – administrators, prostitutes, coolies, butchers, the King, beggars, and the delightfully monnikered “loiterers”. British, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim – all these voices are present, clamouring for attention.

Free all these grumbling, loud, confrontational voices from their strict thematically arranged categories. Jumble them all up. And let the noisy, chaotic story of life in Delhi, on the sidelines of history, emerge. That, in this reviewer’s opinion, will make a truly marvellous book.

Besieged Voices from Delhi 1857 by Mahmood Farooqui is published by Penguin Viking. Published in 2010.

The hardback sells in India for Rs 699.

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