Weight and watch but this one works
Reviewed by Belu Maheshwari

The Weight Loss Club. The Curious Experiment of Nancy Housing Cooperative
by Devapriya Roy
Rupa. Pages 297. Rs 250

The title is really misleading, I had picked up the book thinking it would be tongue in cheek about all auntyjis trying to lose weight, following various diets, talking more about their weight problem than their husbands. Every kitty party becoming a gathering where you eat and still pontificate about staying slim, because being overweight is more of a crime than anything else among the urban middle classes but alas this was not the case. Weight gain being a problem finds reference, being obese is a social problem, it also gives a few characters some heart burns but that is not the thrust of the novel.

It is a simple story, woven around ten characters, all living in a middle class housing society and the backdrop is Kolkata. The author seems very familiar with the cultural milieu of an urban, middle class Bengali home. Traditions and conventions are well-etched. We are familiar with the frailties and idiosyncrasies of the characters as if they could be your next-door neighbour. Mrs Dass, who wants to live her dreams through her sons, is ready to make any sacrifice work to see her sons succeed. A true blue-blooded Soccer Mom or a particular breed of mutant momzillas. There is the boring, well-meaning, studious college professor, who is a loving, devoted son to his ailing mother. The neighbours find him a good person but run away from his academic discussions. Mrs Mukerjee is desperate to marry her overweight daughter to a high-income professional from the US. Her son secretly fancies a girl in his college but is stricken by doubts but is ready to do anything to please the bombshell. The smart, good-looking girl, in turn, has her eyes set on the Casanova of the campus. The travails of unrequited love are so familiar. Then there is the young mother of a second daughter, whose mother-in-law throws barbs at her, orders her around and bullies her but her husband is too busy to notice the plight of his young wife. The woman, who is going through a nervous breakdown due to many miscarriages, has totally neglected herself and her husband. Then there are the usual annoying women, always gossiping and thriving on it. In their midst enters a spiritual guru, a bramacharni, from London who wants a closure of her past. She realises that we hold in our bones the histories of our past and the sorrows of our ancestors. Forgetting is not enough. The only way to deal with past grief is to live through it, and heal from within.

Sandhya becomes the fulcrum of the cooperative society; she is wise, kind and understanding. She makes a huge difference to the lives of the people there. They respond to her overtures and start healing from within. The novel has all the ingredients - there is the theory of Karma, talk of extra mental and physical baggage. The ceremonies associated with Durga Puja are well illustrated and show how the Puja brings the community together.

The end is simplistic, the solutions to all the problems of the characters are decoded by one person, that is Sandhyaji. How yoga and community feeling help them in solving the toughest of problems.The answers or solutions do not ring true. It is like watching a movie which has to please all and have a happy ending. The first half is interesting and fast-paced but the plot slackens a bit in the second half. Because the characters are warm, realistic and loving, the Devapriya Roy story works. We will wait for her other works. Maybe, there will be a full-fledged story on weight loss in the near future.

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