The Illicit Happiness of Other People - Manu Joseph

Date of Reading: 02/04/2016

Author: Manu Joseph

Publisher: Fourth Estate

Place: New Delhi

Year: 2012

Rating: 3.3/5

From: Prachand Narayan

          This is my second book of Manu Joseph and I was surprised to find how dissimilar they were  -- both in theme and in its expression. In terms of story, I will always prefer 'Serious Men', but this particular one is not without its attractions. Manu's vivid diction has successfully captured the day to day life of a Madras society with the Chacko family occupying the centre point. But the mystery element that weaves the whole story together lacks the necessary pull. . . and is kind of boring . . . (I must confess that I did have a peek at the ending in the beginning itself).
          What makes it memorable and unique are some interesting scenes that many a household may witness; a despaired father coming home drunk pouring abuses on the neighbors, a young Thomas gathering courage to face the world every morning, and Mariamma pouring out her troubles to the silent walls. The all too optimistic Unni Chacko looks aloof and out of this world, but not his family and friends and they make the real story of this work. Now to the story:
          Three years after the suicide of seventeen year old Unni Chacko, his father Ousep receives an unfinished comic of his son by post. It was returned undelivered as a fire in the post box had burned the delivery address. Ousep's restless mind began to hope as this may finally lead to what he always ached to find -- the reason of his son's sudden death who until then had lived a very happy life.
          He starts interviewing Unni's friends again and through their words a picture of Unni emerges for the readers as well as for Ousep. As a cartoonist he showed wisdom far beyond his years, but while his fellow classmates sweated for the IIT-JEE exams, he led a carefree life focusing more on the pursuit of the metaphysical. 
    Ousep himself is a journalist whose unaccomplished writing career has turned him into a drunkard who coming home at night enact dramatic scenes for their neighbors in Balaji Lane. His wife Mariamma secretly wishes for his death and pours down all her complaints loudly to the silent walls. Amidst this drunkard father and half witted mother the youngest son Thomas Chacko leads a life of shame, frightened to meet his neighbors' and friends' gaze. Along with this he cherishes a secret crush towards Mythili, their beautiful neighbor who has gone aloof after Unni's death. But on Mariamma's request, Mythili agrees to take tuition to Thomas and gradually he grows bolder.
            When Ousep gets admitted to hospital on a sudden heart attack, Sai Sankaran, one of Unni's close friends decides to confess the story of the comic. It is about a man named Philippose who had tried to molest Mariamma when she was a little girl. When Unni came to know about this incident, he secretly travelled to his mother's place in Kerala to take revenge. But Philippose was already dead and Unni comes back disappointed.
          As the secret of the comic is solved Ousep reaches a dead end. The only other option is Somen Pillai, the other close friend of Unni, who refuses to meet him. Ousep's enquiries reveal that he is affected by corpse syndrome where the person thinks he is a corpse and leads a completely depressed life. Due to his constant pestering Soman comes out of his secluded room to narrate what happened on Unni's last day. They had spent thirty minutes in a room with a naked woman without touching her in order to test their strength against temptation. Later Unni leaves Soman's house and after a few hours kills himself.
          Meanwhile Mythili learns the story of Philippose from Thomas and her comment startles him -- "Philippose should have killed himself, not Unni." Ousep stitches the facts together and rightly assumes that after leaving Somen's house, in a fit of passion he tried to seduce Mythili. Ashamed of his act he kills himself thinking that everyone will soon come to know of his crime. But Mythili kept everything to herself and Ousep believes that soon she will be ready to mend the broken ties with his family.

Something to ponder:

"A scooter in Madras is a man's promise that he will not return home drunk in the evening." - 4

"But then the fate of shy people is that all their fears usually come true" - 5

"The most foolish description of the young is that they are rebellious. The truth is that they are a fellowship of cowards" - 9

". . . the ultimate goal of comics is the same as the purpose of humanity - to break free from language" - 18

Manu Joseph

". . . the fate of love in Madras is neatly divided into four kinds of suicide. Lovers who know that their parents will never let them marry go to a cheap hotel room, get into wedding clothes, and eat rat poison. If they elope instead, their parents will consume the same rat poison. If it is only the girl's parents who object to the marriage, she is most likely to immolate herself. Men who are spurned by girls almost always hang themselves from a ceiling fan. Men very rarely set fire to themselves for a girl" - 248

Serious Men - Manu Joseph

Date of Reading: 01/03/2015

Author: Manu Joseph

Publisher: Harper Collins India

Place: Noida

Year: 2010

From: Prachand Narayan

Rating: 4.5/5

           It could be my general aversion to the news paper, I never had any intention to read this popular debut book of Manu Joseph which is awarded the 'The Hindu' Best Fiction Award in 2010. But the pressure from the part of my best friends and the novel's undiminished presence in literary seminars, finally driven me to have a peep inside and . . . lo, I got clearly surprised that I loved it.
          Sometimes, when we are tired of this recurrent life style with no prospects of change in the near future there is nothing better to do than laugh at life itself; and that is what Ayyan Mani does. He had the courage to stop and look around, which made him realize the void in others, the insecurity that lies behind the clever mask of success and smart talks. Wonderfully written Ayyan's character jumps out of each page with some serious plots among serious people. His astonishing wit and out of the way cunningness creates the light mood that makes the novel really enjoyable throughout. I could never stop laughing when I think about his thoughts of the day.

             Well, I should not be carried away by Ayyan, because this is the story of Acharya and Oparna too and also the 'crazy' Brahmin scientists of the Institute engaged constantly in the pursuit of truth. Even with his grave demeanor Acharya is a likable character, but I can't say the same of Oparna. Whether or not the author had done justice to her character is a different matter; she has come a long way in a male dominated professional group, but her character lacks the grit and confidence expected from her position. Does the story intend to show women are emotionally vulnerable and so they should be kept  in their place??? 
           In his elegant, humorous style Manu Joseph interweaves many the issues faced by contemporary India. His bold strokes cut deep all the while making you laugh to your heart's content.
          Ayyan Mani works as a clerk in the Institute of Theory and Research where high minded Brahmins continue their pursuit of truth and Dalits work as peons and toilet cleaners. He has been  in the place for fifteen years, working his way up from an office boy and for him the place is another big joke of the Brahmins.
         In order to escape from the routines of his everyday life, he starts playing a game with his eleven year old son Adi. Boy learns high standard questions from him concerning the universe or mathematical problems and utters them in the middle of the class causing a disruption. Gradually the boy who is deaf in one ear comes to be regarded as a genius. Ayyan gives money to a Marthi daily reported to have a news item published on his son, and thus begins Adi's first steps to popularity.
         Soon the boy's photo appears in Times of India when he successfully recites the first thousand prime numbers. Ayyan manages this by putting a small recorder inside the hearing aid and placing that on Adi's good ear.
           Meanwhile a situation is brewing inside the Institute. Scientists under Jana Nambodri rebels against director Arvind Acharya for his Balloon Mission to find the presence of aliens in the atmosphere. The rebel group wants to investigate the same through analysing radio signals but the director's idea gets privileged. 
          A hot air balloon is sent out to collect air samples in which one is later analysed in the Institute, and the other three are sent to Boston and Cardiff. Oparna Goshmaulik from the department of astrobiology was the project coordinator. She gets infatuated with Acharya and succeeds in seducing him while his wife was away. But the casual fling dies soon, when Acharya comes to his senses and confesses everything to his wife. Oparna, though grieved on this sudden turn of events concentrates on the Balloon Mission.

          Her team succeeds in finding fungal presence in the air sample making headlines in the newspapers. But the samples in Boston and Cardiff proves to be empty of alien presence. Oparna sends a confession letter to the Ministry stating that she is pressurized to contaminate the container by Acharya. This was her revenge which ruins both their lives.
         Jana Nambodri assumes the post of director and he gives Adi permission to write the entrance test of the Institute as a repayment to Ayyan as he kept mum about the relationship between Acharya and Oparna. Still Ayyan feels that Acharya was a better man and resolves to help him.
         

Manu Joseph

He needs to get the question papers for Adi. A deal is made between him and Acharya who writes down the questions and answers from memory. Adi passes the exam in flying colours and in the press meeting that follows Ayyan exhibits the CD which has secretly recorded the conversation between Oparna and Acharya which proves his innocence. Another recorded part contains anti-Dalit, anti-women comments of Jana Nambodri and his group causing mass riots and attacks towards the Institute. Acharya is reinstated on his place and Ayyan continues to plan new games with his son.

Quotes I Liked:
"Jesus Christ, with a crown of thorns on his head, surveyed the room morosely with a hand on his visible heart, which was on fire". - 20

"They were highminded; they secretly believed that their purpose was greater, they were certain that only scientists had the right today to be philosophers. But they counted cash like everyone else. With a wet index finger and a sudden meditative seriousness." - 24

"Acharya wondered why daughters always went away. So keen they were on finding a moron and leaving. The futility of love and marriage - did they need a whole lifetime to see through it all? Didn't they learn anything from the lives of their parents?" - 71

". . . love is like a forbidden wealth. Its glow cannot be hidden. Sooner or later everyone comes to know. And two people become spectacles in a show they do not know is running to full houses" - 175

"More than the impoverished girls of the chawls whom they hoped to uplift, it was Oparna and her lemon-fragrant friends who were weak and dependent on men. They appeared to do marvellous things, but what they wanted was a man" - 183

"Ayyan detested this moronic pride more than anything about the country. Those flared nostrils, those dreamy eyes that people made when they said that they were once a spectacular race. . . In this delusional heritage of the country, his own ancestors were never included. Except as gory black demons in the fables of valiant fair men." 286

Lust for Life - Irving Stone

Date of Reading: 22/10/2014

Author: Irving Stone

Publisher: Arrow Books

Place: London

Year: 1935

From: Prachand Narayan

          They say, if you perform a bad concert, you will be rewarded with shoes and rotten eggs; if its an excellent one, there is the thunderous applause; and as for a marvelous concert (ooh, that's the best part), there is a stunning silence to greet you from an audience who is not yet back from their musical world. 'Lust for Life' is the last one, you won't want it to get finished and the heaviness in your heart will increase as the pages get thinner and thinner.

        Three years back I heard a little remark from one of my friends, "I fell in love with Van Gogh with 'Lust for Life'"; well, it took me this much years to get my hands on it, but the waiting was worth it; it was everything that I dreamed of.

        Though its a fictional biography of the famous painter, most of the things are accurate and is based on the letters that Vincent wrote to his younger brother Theo. And second to Vincent, Theo is the person who catches a reader's eye, whose unflinching support (mentally and financially) to a good for nothing eldest brother produced an icon we know today. 

Sunflowers

        Irving Stone has successfully captured the fullness of Van Gogh's life, (his lust for life as the title suggests) and we are introduced into the frenzy of creation and the joy of fulfillment on finishing his two famous paintings, among others, namely 'The Potato Eaters' and 'Sunflowers'. This is not just the story of Van Gogh the painter, but also Van Gogh the lover, Van Gogh the missionary and mostly Van Gogh the man. And it will surprise you for sure.
         Story begins in London where young Vincent falls in love with his land lady's daughter who, he later realises to be already engaged. With a broken heart he returns home to Holland and turned his attention to become a missionary. His mediocre speaking skills fails him in this respect, but because of his devotion he is sent to preach in Borinage, the coal mining district in Belgium. He sets to work passionately, living with the miners as one, sharing their poor circumstances and giving them the comfort of the Gospel. But when his efforts to improve the miner's conditions fail desperately, he loses his belief.
         

Starry Night

In this depressive conditions Theo finds him and offers him a monthly allowance so that he can pursue his dream of painting. He returns to his family in Etten where he falls in love with his widowed cousin Kay. But his proposal proves fatal to their friendship and to recover from this unrequited love he moves to Hague, searching for a master in his cousin Mauve. They got along well in the beginning but soon began to differ in their opinions. Meanwhile Vincent is exorcised from the artist community because of his relationship with Christine, a prostitute. He treats her and her child as his own but financial difficulties drove her back to the streets and Vincent too leaves for Nuenen where his parents live now.
         There he devotes himself to his passion and paints till the sun goes down. Margot, his neighbour's daughter falls in love with him, but her family opposes the marriage. Fated to choose between her family and lover, Margot attempts to kill herself, but saved in time by Vincent. He too leaves the place after finishing the painting Potato Eaters. 

Potato Eaters

         He stays with Theo in Paris and is introduced to the paintings of impressionists which are an explosion of bright colours. He moves to Arles and there staying in the yellow house produces the most magnificent creations in his life. But too much time under sun, makes him prone to epileptic fits and in one such occasion he cuts his left ear. This eventually lands him to the next turn in his life: St. Remy asylum where he spent an entire year.

Vincent Van Gogh

          Theo (who is now married with a child), again comes to the rescue and after spending sometime with his family, Vincent moves in with Dr. Gachet, a specialist in nervous disorders. But his brother's financial crisis worries Vincent and in a state of deep mental torture he shoots himself. Unable to comprehend his brother's death, Theo too follows him after six months due to weak health and he is buried alongside his brother.