Review of Rukhsat The Departure by Sujit Banerjee

Star Ratings: 4

The three I’s

Innovative, Interesting and Illusory are the elements that make this book stand out. Twenty-six alphabets of the English language serve as the starting letter of the title of each of the twenty-six chapters. It’s an innovative approach  holding the readers’ interest, which the author has successfully achieved by penning 26 short stories that are illusory in nature. The language used by the author makes each of the stories feel pregnant with suspense and when you start reading them, you cannot help but guess the end. And that’s where the author uses his master stroke in lending the illusory nature to these stories, for you think you are being led on to the right track, but at the climax, the author skillfully changes track and leads you to an expected and bitter-sweet ending.  

Untouched perspectives

In death, we always tend to think about the family members of the departed, but what about the departed? How does it feel while departing? Does anyone spare a thought for them? Even his dying characters come to life with lines like these. "His mind had stopped working; another voice was saying something, but his head was buzzing now and he could hardly make out anything. No one noticed the tears collect at the corner of his eyes and slowly roll down. All he wanted to do was to tell them, he was not brain dead. To scream at them and tell them he could still hear. Yes, he could not move, could not speak, or open his eyes, but damn it, he could still hear."
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Or when it comes to a convicted criminal we only look at his crime, do we care to or dare to look beyond his crime and dissect the situation that converted a carefree, loving human to a heartless criminal? "They gestured to my father to the furthest corner and squatted down, speaking softly and rapidly to him. I saw him, his head lowered, listening to them in rapt attention. I saw one of the fat men take out a gun from one pocket and a big wad of notes from another. He put both on the floor- between him and my father. After an eternity, my father picked up the cash. Barely an hour later, I left with those men with a small bundle strapped to my shoulder; it had some clothes, a tin of sweets, and a tabeez that a fakir had given my mother for me- to keep me safe from the Djinns."

Lost in the pages of this book, one is sure to find some direction towards understanding the deepest of human emotions.

The Story

It’s a platter of several human emotions. From the feelings of an unborn child to those of a man lying on death bed and several stages in between, this book contains a plethora of emotions and perspectives that are sure to make you sit up, take notice and look and think beyond the obvious. Street urchins and their lives, prostitutes and the workings of their mind, gay men and their dualities, women and their ultimate desperation for a biological child are some of the varied aspects that this book covers. Interestingly some of the secondary characters assume primary importance and become the protagonist in subsequent chapters, so when one chapter ends you are left with a feeling that you might meet your character again and see his or her actions from another perspective.

Kudos for:

Handling many ultra-sensitive issues with immense responsibility and in the process actually helping the reader in broadening one’s horizon. Writing in a lucid yet enticing style, so much so that it builds up suspense from the first line which is ultimately revealed only at the end. And how? Excerpt from one of stories titled ‘Nitin Bent Minds’.

"The entries in the diary were not really true; at least most of the things you might have read, and the police sure did. And dropping the silencer there was also deliberate, though I knew it would pose a bit of a problem- why? And as you will soon realize, I could not have done it myself. So I hired someone to do it (and he sure is not talking). Every evidence, every lead, and every clue- I had planted. Turn the page Varsha and you will know what happened that night. May you bleed to death, and yet not die."

Beautifully scraping off the upper façade of his protagonists to reveal their innermost real selves to the readers.
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Only hitch:

In some of the stories the build-up to the suspense is so much, that there are chances the reader might lose track of the beginning. So at times grasping the depth of the story might get difficult, nevertheless if you are an alert reader then this will not be a hassle for you.

Reason for star ratings:

Embarking on a journey from before birth to beyond death and in the process his protagonists touch upon some of the very innermost of human emotions, those that one does not have the courage to accept.Intelligently segmenting the book with an interesting concept of alphabetical order to start each story with.

The author sure deserves credit for digging beyond the mundane and unearthing some preciously special emotions, which one tends to overlook in the rigmarole of daily life schedule. Rukhsat- The Departure truly departs from the beaten track as it never ceases to amaze you with its spontaneity. The protagonists’ style of departure at the end of each of the short stories is thought provoking indeed.

The line that stayed with me:
I kept quiet and let D let go of herself; this was that crucial moment when she had to get used to the empty house of hers and then fill it up with light and hope; with purpose. 

Review of A Dog Eat Dog-Food World by C Suresh

Star Ratings: 4

No underdogs here...

‘It’s raining cats and dogs’, in the literal sense in this ‘pseudo-history’, where the author successfully and very humorously conveys a message through the cats and dogs. The title of the book is sure to entice discerning readers, eager to unravel the mystery about the Dogs eating Dog-food! In this book, the Dogs are no underdogs, rather they serve as a mighty vehicle in exposing the cynicism of the Society. Be it the psychological concepts of ‘herd mentality’ or the marketing fundamentals of ‘product life cycle’, ‘product differentiation strategy’ and the like, the author has lucidly explained it through this ‘pseudo-history’, which sounds as convincing as history.
 

Whiff of fresh air...

It’s a read of a kind, where it’s not really the protagonists who are under the spotlight, rather it’s their actions that add layers to the story and carry it forward effortlessly.  The author has aptly named his protagonists ‘Spike Fortune’ and ‘Tom Rich’, and their pursuits in the dog and cat world has undertones of basic emotions that we see prevalent in the ‘Society’. I would say it’s a complex story told simply to perfection.

The Story...

A man gifted with fortune like ‘Spike Fortune’ frets over ways to spend the enormous fortune that he has inherited, so much so that he literally needs medical help to overcome his panic attacks. The doctor’s prescription and a despondent nephew’s Eureka moment accidentally leads Spike to pioneer an entrepreneurial venture, which in turn has cascading effects on some of his near, but not so dear ones like ‘Tom Rich’. The not so healthy competition between childhood buddies who are now corporate honchos reaches a pinnacle, when you can see ripples of their turmoil in the Society at large. 

Reason for bouquets...

It’s a difficult genre to handle, but the author has successfully dealt with it. The humour is so tongue-in-cheek, it sure does rub on your funny bone. "The demand for separate police stations in each locality to attend to dog-related cases was promptly acceded to by the government. The DGP (Dogs) was the most powerful policeman in any locality." Lines like this catapult the humor element to a new high.

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For effortlessly explaining complex textbook concepts from the advertising and market research world, to a layman “Sir! The market has reached the maturity stage of the Product Life Cycle. As long as our Company was a Star, growth was good. Now it can only be a Cash Cow that yields routine profits.” Spike could not make head or tail of this. He turned to Jerry and asked him “What is all this rot?” Jerry said, “Boss! They are telling you that all pet dogs are already eating dog food, so there are no more pet dogs to whom we can sell more of our product”

Reason for Star Ratings...
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For bringing out the smiles, laughs and the smirks. Very few have the caliber to spontaneously bring out these emotions from the readers, but this book does it with elan. The author sure knows the magical way to make jargons in market research sound interesting, and in exploring how the human psychology has a role to play in the birth of these jargons he displays a skill that deserves accolades. His academic background seems to be in full play, when he touches upon these aspects. A very timely satire that will make you sit up and take notice. Societal pressure could not have been better explained.

“You know how things are going at office, Dolly! We just cannot afford a Persian, now.” “We MUST!  We have to maintain appearances. Why don’t you get a loan from the bank? You know they are always after you and they are offering loans for buying cats.” “If it were only the installments, Dolly, I would do it like a shot. Persians are so expensive to maintain.” “We absolutely have to, James! We will manage somehow. Economize on something less important- like our food, maybe.”

In its own way the book is a microcosm of the Society and its myriad ways that often amuse and agitate us. An excerpt from the book that effectively highlights the impact of branding – “Look at Sam, there! What a social climber! Just because he sports a Pekinese around, he thinks he is superior. A Mongrel man he is and a Mongrel man is all he will be.”

The line that stayed with me...

People with no money knew what to do with the money, which they did not possess, but people with money seemed merely to be burdened by it. Something was seriously wrong with the disbursal system in Heaven.