When I picked up Suketu Mehta’s ‘Maximum City’, I was concerned about it ending up as another piece of NRI writing, packed with criticism about India, and distant memories of a brief Indian childhood.
Fortunately, I was wrong.
Maximum City is a vivid portrait of a city that is home to over 14 million people who live a dream without boundaries.
The book starts off with Mehta’s return to ‘homeland’ after nearly 21 years of living abroad, and a small bout of the inevitable nostalgia. After the first 40 pages of reminiscence, the gripping narrative takes over, and you journey through the slums of Mumbai, feel the malice of the underworld, and the lust of the dance bars. Every person Mehta honors enough to discuss over 3 lines is as real as the neighbor who smiles at you, and as dark as the villain in a film.
The book touches upon almost everything that is becoming of Mumbai—Corruption, poverty, Technicolor dreams, wealth, power, politics, terrorism, love, hatred, communal riots, bomb blasts, ‘vada pav’, and the omnipresent power of Hindi cinema. Reading the book is like living a well-made Bollywood film. There’s drama, action, death, defiance, romance, passion, and tragedy. Dirty politics, underhand deals, seduction, trauma, and fear.
Towards the end of the book, you feel like you practically lived with Suketu Mehta, as he delved into the complexities of human nature and the flavors of Mumbai; As he bit into the steaming hot potato ‘bhajias’ [fried dumplings], and rubbed shoulders with the gun-men of the city.
Like most authors, Mehta digs deep into his prolific vocabulary, and infrequently throws in words that you will need a reliable thesaurus to reference. But you pardon this minor affliction when you begin to realize how little you knew about Mumbai a.k.a. Bombay.
Read it, live with it, and enjoy every piece of a city ‘Lost and Found’.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
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2 comments:
I expect this comment won't see light of day.
Ironic that you open with accusing NRIs of something or the other, while fantastically demonstrating your own myopia perfectly! If others have a particular view of India, don't you too have a very narrow view of NRIs? Mirror see much?
This blog is not that myopic - to omit a slightly critical comment. I hope that answers your very presumptuous opening sentence. :)
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