A Suitable Boy

One night, Me and Shree got talking on books we have read and want to read over whatsapp. This is the most preferred communication medium these days and I remember not long ago, shree and me would end up texting each other at least 20 times before we would abandon it and eventually place a call. Our conversation steered towards books by Rohinton Mistry, Salman Rushdie, Jhumpa Lahiri when she suddenly sent me an image of her copy of A Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. The Ibis Trilogy came up as usual. My first Amitav Ghosh read was, 'A Calcutta Chromosome'. And, I was frightened to my bones after finishing it. Somehow the mystery haunted me in my dreams and I vowed then never again to recommend this book. Later, of course I saw 'River of Smoke' and bought it because it was in part about the opium trade between India and China. That is one fascinating subject to write a book on. Sea of Poppies captivated my attention with its beautiful cover art. Yet to read this Trilogy.

Days later I picked up Joseph Anton, Rushdie's memoir. I have loved his collection of essays titled Imaginary Homelands: Essays and Criticism, and enjoyed Haroun and the sea of stories immensely while in Architecture School. I remember reading Haroun on train rides in the morning and evening and dreaming of the waves and boats for many nights. I was fervently looking for Mirror work: 50 years of Indian Writing 1947-1997 edited by Rushdie, and jumped with joy on finding it at Strand. Since then, my faith of finding books at Strand has doubled. And then, Vikram Seth came into our conversation since there's an excerpt from A suitable boy in Mirror work. Shree exclaimed about having heard a great many things about it. I immediately took out my Mirror work copy and reread the excerpt. Somehow, Lata, Mrs. Rupa Mehra and Kabir kept circling in my head. I turned on to the internet at 2am and searched for an ebook. There wasn't one listed although I found an excerpt (again) and went through it to text Shree about buying the book and reading it together. "The best things in life are meant to be done together", my words. Seth's poetry in 'All those who sleep tonight' is particularly notable for its easy charm with the reader. His poetry verse, 'The Golden Gate' is another book I look forward to read. 'Shakti'- an excerpt from 'Love and Longing in Bombay' by Vikram Chandra took me by surprise and it is on our to-read list now. Anything that says Bombay is on our reading list. I joked to shree that perhaps I'm in love with men named Vikram- authors at least. How we gushed together after noting that A Suitable Boy was published in May '93, when we were barely five and today almost 22 years later, we are still talking about the protagonists. That, I know is the sign of a book well written for its audiences. It is indeed interesting to delve into 1950's Calcutta, Brahmpur society and the Cad boys. While we continue our search for the title, here's hoping we maintain the excitement and patience required, for that's one long read.