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First Proof: The Penguin Book of New Writing from India 4 VERY few in the field of publishing dare take a plunge deep in the ocean of writing and come out with precious but undiscovered treasure therein. First Proof: The Penguin Books of New Writing from India 4 is a commendable and comprehensive effort in this respect. It provides us a fair glimpse of writing (fiction, nonfiction and verse) in India and leaves us with the impression that Indian writing is very much alive and promises a bright future as well. The book is similar to an Indian ‘thali’ that caters to the varied tastes of people and on finishing it they do feel having relished the stuff and still craving for more. It resembles a lovely bunch of beautiful flowers of different hues and colours emanating sweet fragrance.
There is rich variety in the non-fiction section too. It seems to be a beautiful texture woven with wit and humour, laced with subtle satire and irony. Infinite subtlety and seemingly effortless prose stays with the reader long after he has laid the book. See the vivacious humour in A Day in the Life of a Delhiwala. Here women’s mania of shopping is described, "Each with five shopping bags `85 five shopping bags! Mrs Sandso has only two, looser." In a Bookshop provides us with subtle satire too. The bookshop, according to Jairaj Singh, "exposes the sycophants since the rich and famous end up buying nothing. They visit the bookshop, throwing their voice as well as their weight `85 ." Queen’s reading and writing gives us a rich feast of humour in Explode? But it was Only Anita Brookner! The story To where I Never Belonged and Memories of Kerala win over our hearts with sweet nostalgia as well as painful memories. There is a fine jugglery of words in all the writings herein. The verse part too is a fair representation of modern poetry. Smaller poems have a haunting beauty about them like "I will remember/following you/ moment by slow moment/sunshine" (untitled II). Again in Adagio affettuoso, Avik Chanda beautifully relates melancholy and loneliness that characterise life of a modern man, "Only the sun can make such poetry/out of this indolent dust, arising and falling/Clearly there is nothing left for me here/Alone again, I pass the afternoon `85 ." The Lost Sonnet is indeed quite vocal, "My pen/Notched by the barbed words of well meaning friends/Suffered a haemorrhage." Wish this section could have been given more space. The collection in hand is virtually a masterly endeavour in itself. Indeed, this attempt to present the pulse of new writing in English in our country is worth appreciation. The reviewer looks forward to more attempts of this nature.
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The
fiction section displays very appropriate selection of short stories
some dwelling on social evils like drinking, humiliation and social
discrimination of the victims of rape. Corruption too finds its voice in
The Train and Christmas Comes in April, but such themes
overshadow their literary values. They remain short stories first and
foremost. Unforgettable is the picture of two over drunk men struggling
over a Rs 10 note oblivious of their proximity to a dustbin in Pavement.
In The Trap, deep and compassionate understanding of the
characters allows the author to meaningfully represent ordinariness of
their lives along with portraying their resilience amidst poverty and
sorrow through the characters of Nirmala and Abala. Thubetan Returns
displays a very amiable protagonist in Thubetan. It is very poignant and
moving tale that centres around the theme of "no home, no country
of ones own" lands one in grief, yet he faces bravely "puckish
games" that fate plays with him.