And it isn’t clickbait material – Shuma Raha tells a genuinely good story that moves at a brisk pace even as it gives each problem the scrutiny it deserves
There’s a lot going on in Shuma Raha’s novel, The Sea has the Answers. In Kolkata, the MeToo hashtag attaches itself to a senior advertising professional to the possible detriment of his career and his family. In a small seaside town, the guru of an ashram rapes a local teenager, but because of his strong political connections, nobody expects any kind of justice to be done, not even the filing of an FIR. And in that same town, when a young investigative journalist makes some headway amongst the rumours about the ashram, he’s threatened, because of his Muslim name, with mob violence and worse.
Right at the centre of all this is Urmi Das. A woman who played little part in instigating the drama surrounding her but is caught in it anyway. Married to the advertising agency CEO accused of sexual harassment and rape, and jolted by his infidelity and misuse of power, Urmi is spending time at the seaside home she inherited from her grandfather to figure out what she wants to do now. There, because she has some experience of registering FIRs due to volunteering with a shelter for abused women in Kolkata, she is drawn into helping the violated teenager and her family. Having rediscovered her sexuality with the journalist, she now finds herself vulnerable to the vindictive supporters of the guru because of her married status and his religion. On top of this, her 17-year-old daughter wants Urmi to come back home despite being old enough and savvy enough to understand why her mother might not want to. Meanwhile, Urmi’s closest friend can offer her nothing but the direst warnings regarding women who live alone. Wherever Urmi looks, it seems she has little personal agency. And while she acknowledges that by just drifting along in her married life, she did put herself in that situation, she is also certain that’s not how she wants the rest of her life to play out.
With all these issues knotted together, it’s difficult to imagine that this novel will not grab attention. And it isn’t clickbait material – Shuma Raha tells a genuinely good story that moves at a brisk pace even as it gives each problem the scrutiny it deserves. But – and this is a big but – the focus on the issues often turns pedantic, making the novel sometimes seem more like reportage than a story about something that could happen to you and me. Because of this, there is no sense of that satisfaction you feel when you finally turn the last page of a great book.
The Sea Has the Answers
By Shuma Raha
Niyogi Books
pp. 379; Rs 595/-
