Reading Bombay Swastika

The author lists ten authors in the acknowledgments section that opens Bombay Swastika. Chuck Palahniuk isn’t among them. But it was Chuck who I was thinking of the most while reading the early parts of Bombay Swastika. It wasn’t just the “if you see a snake and a…. kill the…” refrain in the first two chapters, but also his desire to be the enfant terrible of Indian writing. His attempts towards fulfilling that desire are wonderful most of the time, but I found the reliance on stereotypes disappointing. Bombay Swastika is a strong debut — it is rare for an author to have this well-formed a voice this early in his career. In a lesser author I can understand a reliance on stereotypes as a shortcut for character development — here it feels careless, if not a tad bit lazy. His joy at being able to offend his early readers at a writer’s group only adds to the impression — that said, he is only going to get more creative at this offending business, I am sure.

In addition to the voice, what makes Bombay Swastika a delight to read is the copious amounts of research that has gone into it. A strong sense of time & place can be felt across most of the novel — even when the Indianisms are a bit of a hit-and-miss. (As Osho would have said: One of the most interesting words in the Hindi language today is the word ‘bhench*d’. It is one magical word: just by its sound it can describe pain, pleasure, hate and love. In language it falls into many grammatical categories…)

The homosexual Sardar-”Chinee” pair trying to pull off a daring heist sets this novel to a fantastic start — in fact, your reaction to this preface will mirror your reaction to the novel — it encapsulates the author’s style perfectly, all its strengths and weaknesses are here. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Though the dichotomy of relying on stereotypes while telling a story in which discrimination is at the center was a mild distraction.

The novel gets better once the offenses are out of the way. The action is wonderfully done, and each character is crafted to stand out from the rest in sharp relief. Our love for Mao but the hate for Chinese after ’62 is beautifully captured.

“A comrade yelled, ‘Europe’s first, next America’s dead, China leads, the East is Red!’ Fighting back, India’s world-famous Lata Mangeshkar trilled over factory loudspeakers reminding the nation, as always, to shed a tear for those martyred in China’s wake during the War of ‘62”

And it just keeps getting better. Violent deaths, slowly creeping deaths, nuclear crisis on the horizon, stolen secrets and Tamilian don — possibly based on a mix Vardha bhai and Mastan (i really want to know which). The historical details are carved very well into the story — a very organic part of the narrative, not an info-dump like some famous authors prefer. Plus the darkly humorous dialogues are a delight to read while capturing the mood of the nation the novel needs.

I like how the canvas of the story only hints at the larger game — till the story demands a larger canvas. A strong debut, worth a read.

PS: There is a dream sequence where the hero of the piece interacts with an “andhi maa” about tantra and death. That sequence alone is worth the time spent reading this book. I would love to read the author’s new works.and see where he goes from here. Hopefully things get more magical.

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