The Three Wise Monkeys: Review from a candid pen!

Language is my gateway to literature! As a linguist, before I get to understand the literature of the text, I like to see how much the text welcomes me through its language.

The single most driving force in this Jeet Gian’s text was its ‘present wit’. The language unfolds the academic debacle of Amar, Akbar and Anthony in a perennially humourous way.

The main characters are not just easy to remember but they seamlessly leave an indelible impression on the reader’s mind through the contextual nature of their names—the innate Bollywood connection.

The text does not refer but alludes to various moments of smiles—sometimes to Amitabh Bachchan (for promoting Kutch) and sometimes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi (for making the world believe in it as a peaceable region).

The story plot does not just roam around these three grappling-to-be chartered accountants, it also lends itself to the day-to-day trauma of a surviving middle-class individual. The story does not unveil the monetary turmoil in their life but it also explores the fear that can be a human condition.

The free-wheeling nature of the three protagonists is roped with the underlying theme of their friendship. The mention of Leopold Café, Mumbai, post the terror attack vaguely but certainly hints at the indomitable spirit of Mumbaikars.

My recommendation to the novel is not merely on the point that it has the verve, vigour and vitality to grip you as a reader, but I suggest you to read this to have a laugh in between the witty metaphors that begin at page 1 and end at page 400.  

Her Resurrection- A Review

Picture Credit: ikreatepassions.com

Feminism is not a fad but intent, not a cult but a religion in India. 'Her Resurrection' by Soumyadeep Koley is not merely a harbinger of harsh realities to fore, but it is the undying spirit of women that survive the dogmas and refuse to succumb under the bigoted faiths. 

Maya among the likes of Kumar and Shittuppam, is not just another protagonist helping to unfold a story plot; it is instead the pull back of the male skin to unfold the grave and grotesque misdemeanours of men.

Often, I have snubbed and sidelined the entity of feminism as a part and parcel stemming from the pragmatic discourse of intellectuals. However, Soumadeep with his tale of Maya has not only brought out the catharsis post rape but a catalysis of reactions that gains momentum when a young girl chooses to defy the contemporary societal norms and refuses to be a pariah in the course of her endless trauma.

I can take you through the day-to-day impediments of Maya and share all her travails but what good is a beautiful text if not read but seen only from the eclipsed view of a reviewer. People like Shittuppam and Kumar are not individual characters menacing the very existence of Maya in the text, but they are everyday metaphors of menace against the rebels like Maya who refuse to kneel down before their oppressors.

The voice of Maya, regardless of caste and creed, is the strong voice of the suppressed subaltern community. In the text, the curse called dowry mocks and jeers at the idea of a progressive India when a minor wails to study and the inebriated father thrashes her if she chooses to open her mouth against ‘his will’.

Even the idea of a teacher is flayed when he stands against education and questions: so now, you wish to study more than me, girl? And, that wasn’t a question at all! It was education lampooned and Maya ridiculed.

‘Her Resurrection’ is a seething attack on the questionable mindsets of males. To me as a linguist, the text is not just a story but a mission that uncovers the atrocities against women to achieve honour for them instead. 

Join his social-media effort at: facebook.com/unitedforwomen and let us make ‘her resurrection’ possible by honouring her essence.