|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HOW
much of change in life is too much? Can change of place, surroundings and job really impact the inner life? Does one change as one grows up or do we all follow some patterns in life because of some inner turmoil or own innate nature? Anjali Joseph's Another Country addresses such questions and leaves the interpretation open to the readers. In London, despite being with her closest friends, Leela feels dissatisfied with her life. When her relationship with Richard is going smooth, his lack of commitment puts her off and she moves to Bombay, a city close to her hometown Pune and her parents. She starts building her life again, loving the sea-side location of her hostel room. Again she is at crossroads where she has to choose between either settling down and leading a regular life or following her heart. Like Saber in Naguib Mahfouz's The Search, Leela also dwells on the circumstantial details of existence, especially the feeling of being alone. In an attempt to discover herself in her relations to other people, friends and lovers, Leela tries to gain a sense of inner peace, the feel of being at ease with her own self and of being able to relate to her reflection in the mirror, people you are dealing with and with the room that you are living in. It does not matter to Leela what job she does as long as it helps her in making two ends meet. She works as a teacher, an administrative secretary and an NGO's data manager in Paris, London and Bombay, respectively. Though surrounded by lovers, friends or acquaintances, there is a constant struggle within her to “make her peace with the day in small repeated actions”. The reader might not always sympathise with the protagonist over her erratic behaviour or picking up unnecessary squabbles, but on a broader level one understands the urge to live life completely on one's own terms. She does make certain compromises on her way to love, but in the end the “heart, spirit or soul” of Leela emerges victorious. She temporarily falls in traps of love and companionship, but shrugs it off when it becomes a burden for her. Anjali Joseph succeeds in portraying the inner workings of Leela's mind and the complexities of urban life. She takes the reader through lamp-lit facades of Paris, subways in London and the 'galiyan' of Bombay, Pune and the seasides. Here cities and the outer atmosphere poignantly reflect the turmoil in Leela's life. For instance, in her cubbyhole in Paris, she feels desolate and claustrophobic and dreams of a flood in her room. The author uses regional language to lend verisimilitude to the narrative, but readers not fluent in French or Hindi find it hard to follow certain conversations as there are no translations. The novel provides a fractured narrative to convey the broken streams of consciousness of the protagonist and disjointed realities and at times, it becomes difficult to fathom the underlying current of the story. The author evokes a sense of aloofness and alienation as Leela walks through the lamp-lit boulevards of Paris where "she had not felt at home or welcomed, but breathed upon by pomp, and exposed in a large, cruel theatre
|
||
|
|
||
The novel traces the journey of Indian-origin Leela through her twenties. She leads a Bohemian life, moving from one country to another seeking security, happiness and satisfaction in a world full of contrasting and contradicting cultures, interests and demands. Alienated from her family and roots, Leela passes through the corridors of Paris, London and Bombay as in a daze. She feels utterly disappointed as she wakes up in her studio apartment in Paris on weekends even though she loves the city. 