What I liked about the book.
This book contains no advice about eating
carrots instead of radish, or eating less sweets, if you are so inclined. It
does, however slightly, nudge you towards exercise, and two of the protagonists
fall in love with each other in so doing. So it is totally worth it, at least
for some.
It has the charm of an Amol Palekar- Basu
Chatterji film (think Rajnigandha), or a Hrishikesh Mukherjee classic (Bawarchi?
Khubsoorat? You take your pick).
Actually, there was a film called Thoda sa Roomani ho Jaaye, which I was
sometimes reminded of, in terms of unhappy people with unresolved lives slowly ‘finding
themselves’. If I remember that right, Nana Patekar played a critical role in
it.
It could happen anywhere. Substitute Dhokla
and Thepla for the Mishti doi and Sandesh,
it could be Gujarat. Or Puran poli and Shrikhand, it could be Maharashtra.
Though Calcutta is finely integrated into the story, it is not critical to it.
The characters are very real. I could
identify at least a couple of people from my own life who would (did?) behave
like each of these characters. Treeza
and John, Ananda, Apu, Monalisa and her competing gang of moms with a ‘killer’
instinct, the God-like tuition master Bor Da, and the college kids Abeer,
Mandy, AJ and the rest. The ma-in-law takes are really reminiscent of the Lalita
Pawar character in films, but also of real life haranguers-in-chief in many
households.
From an educationist’s point of view, the
parental obsession about their kids’ careers (usually to their detriment and
with no concern for their likes) that comes through forcefully (even if it is unintended),
is worrying. Actually, the marriage
obsession too, and the middle class love for NRI grooms-though I shouldn’t be
complaining. I was one a good 25 years ago. Until we both decided to go desi.
The story is complex, because of the many
characters, but is resolved nicely, and the style of writing is first rate. The
idea of a flash mob relevant to some recent happenings is used well in the
climax. You will however, be disappointed if you
were looking for a crash course on weight reduction, with diets, charts, and
asinine advice. That is NOT what it is about.
If you liked Devapriya’s first book (The
Vague Woman’s Handbook), I am sure you will like this one even more.
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