Powerful search for identity
Reviewed by Vikrant Parmar

Land Where I Flee
by Prajwal Parajuly
Quercus/Penguin India Pages 266. Rs 499

when the term Chaurasi first appears in the initial pages, the tenor of young author Prajwal Parajuly's first novel Land Where I Flee is set in right earnest. By the end of the 250-odd pages, one can only applaud his creative genius. Prajwal knows where he is taking his story and he takes it with elan.

Chaurasi is the eighty-fourth birthday of Chitralekha Nepauney aka Aamaa, whose grandchildren are part of the great Nepali diaspora. Aamaa, settled in Gangtok, Sikkim, smokes 'bidis' in a distinctive style - 'making an 'O' of her forefinger and thumb' - and does so till the very end. In her service is Prasanti, a loud-mouth yet amiable eunuch, whose pathos is relieved only when she 'chats' with God!

Aamaa's grandchildren have made a collective, yet individually singular, decision of making her 'Chaurasi' a special occasion. They are settled, yet each in search of identity.

Agastya, a successful oncologist from New York who is in a relation with the "pale and skinny" Nicholas Zachary Wells, is desperate to hide his sexual orientations. Manasa, who flies back from London, is married more to his wheelchair-bound father-in-law than her husband.

She is rich, yet the vicissitudes of life are eating into her despondent existence. Bhagwati, who elopes with a Bhutanese man, Ram Bahadur Damai, and suffers the caustic comments of Aamaa on her 'untouchable' husband for years, returns from Colorado, US. Bhagwati's hopeful attitude, despite pangs of penury, is enough to beat the perennial optimist. Then there is the uninvited author, Ruthwa, who adds more spice to the narrative.

Together, the characters leave no nooks and crannies of life unexplored. Their fears, fantasies as well as foibles are unique, yet at the same time common to mankind and the author has portrayed them with surgeon-like precision. Behind the scene, at all times, is the beedi-wielding cantankerous yet lovable Aamma, who much like a beacon shows them the way. The overall atmosphere of gloom is elevated as their individual search for identity paves the path to ultimate freedom.

Prajwal has a gift with the language; his vocabulary is up among the best and syntax immaculate. The narrative technique he adopts is praiseworthy. His knowledge of issues - Gorkhaland, Bhutanese refugees - and of Nepali rituals - Kukur puja, Kaag Puja, Dashain, Tihaar, Bhai tika, Goru puja - is impressive, to say the least.

Prajwal has no reason to 'flee.' He is here to stay in the creative world and certainly for long.

HOME