Words such as ‘diversity’ and ‘pluralism’ are often bandied about when one discusses India and its denizens, yet it takes an artist — who must be equal part historian, economist, sociologist and psych
Words such as ‘diversity’ and ‘pluralism’ are often bandied about when one discusses India and its denizens, yet it takes an artist — who must be equal part historian, economist, sociologist and psychologist — of great calibre and true skill to mine these sights, sounds, smells, attitudes, customs and beliefs and craft them into fiction that is refreshing, authentic, deep and — above all — engaging and non-prosaic.
Nairobi born writer Mahesh Rao, thankfully, rises to the challenge and does great justice to the titular 1.2 billion in this delightfully kaleidoscopic collection of short stories that are set in variegated locales in this country and touch upon a number of themes. Like Rao’s poignant and moving debut novel The Smoke is Rising, these 13 captivating tales demonstrate the writer’s prodigious knack for rich detailing that lends an almost cinematic vibe to his fiction.
What is also remarkable is the chameleon-like manner in which he slips into the skins of his disparate protagonists, some of whom include a Generation Z-er from a wealthy albeit broken home, an aged woman in who has been displaced from her Naxal-ridden village to a detention camp; a patriarch on a tea plantation in the Nilgiris who has developed unrequited and unspeakable feelings for his daughter-in-law; a phlegmatic, Kafkaesque Kashmiri school teacher, and a suave lothario who hooks up with a very unusual woman and a fledgling pehelwan who finds himself the unlikely target of psychological warfare by a rival in his akhara.
Among the most memorable of these stories is the hilarious Suzie Baby, which is set in amchi Mumbai and has an all but forgotten yesteryear Bollywood villain (though he is still something of a prima donna) tell us about the time one of his pupils got his first big break. The narrative takes playful digs at the all-too-familiar tropes and foibles of the film industry. Eternal Bliss, which is steeped in irony and dark humour, lays bare the gnawing anxieties and fears of a yoga centre employee. One of the darker stories Golden Ladder verges on the Gothic as it sees the scion of an ancient
Rajasthani clan being summoned back from the US to her hoary estate, on which was uncovered the traces of a crime that shocked the nation. The mesmerising Fizz Pop Aah, another noteworthy story, chronicles the steady rise and tragic decline of the Madhya Pradesh-based Shakti-Cola company, which the narrator’s father, entrepreneur Eddie Edalji Engineer, had put his heart and soul into.
Do yourself a favour and grab hold of a copy of One Point Two Billion.
