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Lunatic in my Head
Lunatic in my Head is Anjum Hasan’s first novel. She has tried her best to weave each character into this beautifully crafted tale and none of the characters has been imposed. There is Aman Moondy who is preparing for the Indian Administrative Service. He is confused when it comes to leaving the town, even if there are greener pastures. Leaving the town would mean saying goodbye to his home, his dreams and close friends—a big price to pay for a career. His mother dreams big about him while he is interested in music. His character reflects the frustration of the youth who have to leave what interest them and think for their livelihood. Sophie Das is an eight-year-old girl who gets the strange idea that she is adopted. With a father who is an intellectual unfit in today’s materialistic society and her mother who is practical, Sophie generates the confusion of children of her age. So the idea of ‘adoption’ dawns naturally. She lives in her own world, dreaming and trying to make sense of the fights between her parents, playing young mother to her baby sister. The scrupulous college lecturer Firdaus Ansari, caught between her job and her thesis, at a loss as to how to fit in the world where pursuit of knowledge is not enough, rather one has to acquire degrees. The three chief actors live in the same town, each connected to the other by an invisible thread, yet they meet only for a fleeting second. Besides these three, there are numerous indispensable characters who come in the story for a short time but leave a big impact. The novel, on another plane, deals with serious issues, like the problem of insurgency in the region. The conflict between the people of the Khasi tribe and the immigrants is discussed. Families like that of the Moondys, Das and Firdaus’s consider Shillong their home, for they know no other. They are caught in a vortex trying their best to be assimilated in society. Yet, some of the people of the Khasi tribe, especially the youth, try to create conditions that would force them to leave the region or either they would have to live in dread. The other fact that Hasan has tried to raise is the rampant use of drugs in the region. With very few job opportunities open to the youth, they are a vulnerable lot. Bereft of livelihood, they eventually take to violence. They are caught in a vicious cycle from which they do not know the way out. It is through novels like these that one realises the problems that people face in different parts of the country. The problems bothering the people are highlighted in such a way that the readers would remember them and feel the urgency to take action.
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A novel of very ordinary
people, each reflecting a little of the people we see around us. The
story is set in the small picturesque town of Shillong. One is
transported to mist-covered hills as one reads the story. In fact, you
can feel the cold breeze on the face while working your way up a hill,
lost in your thoughts. The story meanders through valleys and hills.
Though the plot fails to catch your attention in the beginning,
gradually the intensity of characters envelops you. You are with them,
through their joys and sorrows. The writer’s style of narrating is
such that one feels like going to the aid of the protagonists when they
are helpless.