Wish-list Books

In July, I picked up two books which were on my wish-list for years. The first one took a long time to finish and the second one was really fast paced. But both consumed me, while I was reading them. This year has been great in terms of my reading goals - 14 books so far and lot of genres. Also I was committed to write about each book I read this year. So, here are my views on the two books I read in July.

Book 1: Maximum City - Bombay lost & found by Suketu Mehta (Non Fiction)

I think I was quite late in reading this one. It was originally published in 2004. I stayed in Mumbai for 12 years from 2005 to 2017. I share with the author certain traits - flirting with the edgy and shady parts of Mumbai; and an eye for detail. The author here describes Bombay the way a foreigner sees it. Its politics, its depravity, its poverty, its crime and its hypocrisy. The book spends some time and few pages on the resilience and spirit of the city and its inhabitants as well. But I felt there is a deliberate attempt to make it appealing to foreign audiences who love certain stereotypes about India. There is an overt Hindu bashing and justification of atrocities committed by minorities; while both sides are equally to be blamed for everything communal. 

Also some aspects described in vivid detail are now dated. 

The underworld and its nature has changed. I have read few Hussain Zaidi books and watched Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday in last few years, which give  far more nuanced accounts of riots, underworld and bomb-blasts. These are the subjects which Suketu spends a lot of time on, though from a human psyche perspective, but I was constantly getting the 'been there done that' feel. The extreme politics of hatred in Mumbai has failed to take off in last few years, which the author explores and the dance bars and associated social fabric has disintegrated since this book was written. Also if one has seen Madhur Bhandarkar's Chandni Bar, one would realize that while the film was poignant, the author in this book largely tries to titillate. 

The author shines in the parts where he describes immigrants and their dreams or where he mocks the film industry and its style of operations. This book is surely a good compilation on the city of dreams but it falls short of being a definite and defining chronicle of Bombay / Mumbai, as it ignores the large working middle class and its struggle. 

Book 2: Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh (Fiction)

Though originally published in 1956 it is highly relevant even today, because nothing has changed. This book looks at the partition of India and Pakistan not from political point of view (local village politics described in the book exactly mirrors the national politics of that time though) but from human and social point of view. Khushwant Singh localizes the issue to one village and builds a heart breaking tale of love, betrayal and redemption of one of its key protagonists. The book delves deep into frailties of human beings and describes the levels of moral corruption and wickedness we are capable of. 

As an author Khushwant Singh has an excellent writing style. Brevity and right choice of words are hallmark of this book. He is incisive, displays great sense of dark humor and his economy with words, makes this book a fast read. Also by the end of the book, your ideas about bravery and heroism; idealism and action will be tested. You would think about these things days after you would have put the book back onto the bookshelf.

Interestingly, Maximum City takes sides while describing riots and Train to Pakistan doesn't. The former is non-fiction which doesn't always ring true and the latter is fiction which feels like a true account.