TEMPORARY PEOPLE
I’
m always interested in what the male of the species really thinks about love, about sex. Naturally, I had to read Amitava Kumar’s The Lovers, following Kailash, a boy from Bihar, as he explores living, loving, thinking and just being in America. A good read, though, in the end, the protagonist’s understanding of his relationships mirrors my own perennial incomprehension.
I also enjoyed ‘instapoet’ Rupi Kaur’s savage young woman poems: i bleed/every month./but do not die./how
am i/not/ magic. - From the lie.
In short fiction, I was struck by Deepak Unnikrishnan’s superb Temporary People, which presents the Malayali experience in the Gulf with much linguistic inventiveness. Fone, a story on a telephone that allows the caller to watch who he’s talking to back home grinds together homesickness, jealousy and desire.
Next, Teesta Setalvad’s Footsoldier of the Constitution made me marvel at the author’s spirit. Among art books, BN Goswamy’s Manaku of Guler is breathtaking. I often gaze at the Pahari painter’s surreal ‘The celestial musicians milk the earth cow’ (Bhagavata Purana series) and at Krishna combing Radha’s hair (Gita Govinda series) when I’m disturbed. It always works. I still haven’t found what men really think about love and sex but it’s alright. I’ve read some great books this year. #noconnection!