A Story sung by an ulcer.

             

Celebrating Life

Before I get to writing about the book, here is a small piece of advice. For anyone battling low concentration levels, try reading a book for one and a half days straight. A good book, that too. You will learn to avoid distractions of all kinds. I undertook this Herculean task for a class assignment - from Monday evening to Wednesday morning, the day of submission, I read, read and read. Now I can go hours without looking at my phone, doing what I must rather than browsing twitter and favouriting articles which I don't end up reading. Try this, it is a stunt in its own right.
              The book here was Animal's People, Indra Sinha's 2007 Man Booker Prize nominee. It is a story set against the background of the Bhopal Gas tragedy, speaking about the life of the citizens twenty years later.
             The narrator is Animal, an orphan who was affected by the gas leak, when his spine was bent so badly that he walks on all fours for the rest of his life. It is the story of the residents of Khaufpur, how they cope with life after the tragedy or as it is referred to by them, 'that night'. Animal lives with his foster mother Ma Franci, a french nun who lost her powers to understand any language but her mother tongue and his dog Jara in the poisoned compounds of the factory. His friends include Zafar, a social activist; Nishi, musician Somraj's daughter, Zafar's girlfriend and Animal's saviour. Also among major characters is Elli Barber. More on her later. 
            This 'basti', or part of Khaufpur also has some endearing characters, stereotypes that invariable exist in any cluster of humans. There is Chunawala, who thinks about only money. Bhoora, the auto driver. Farouq, Zafar's best friend from the family of local bullies. And then there is the 'kampani', the culprits of the gas leak who got away too easy, the 'government' - corrupt as usual and the benevolent, generous Elli Barber whose kindness is so selfless that even music maestro Somraj, of the purest of souls, finds it difficult to understand why an Amrikan would leave everything to come serve a bunch of poor people in India. It's exactly the kind of skepticism that humanity is bound in today, the sheer disbelief that no one can be truly and fully altruistic. 
            Reading the book is like listening to Yoda-meets-English/French/Hindi/Hinglish speaking Indian. The words have colloquial sounds, the sentences are inverted, the articles feature rarely - this is idiosyncratic of many Indian books I have read. It captures the authencity of the Indian English dialect bang on and if you are Indian, will instantly relate to everyday  speech. At the same time, Grammar Nazis will argue that it destroys the authenticity of the language. Which is more important, is a subjective thing.  
           The characters are beautifully etched out. Zafar will fill you with hope and respect with his unending struggle to go to the courts and patiently wait for justice to come by. He is saintly, always composed, always generous and helping. 
Nishi, his girlfriend is his shadow, his support, his weakness. The love story between a Hindu and Muslim with 20 years between them kills two tabboos at once, and speaks a lot for the Khaufpuri stand that religion will not divide them, they who have been united by extreme tragedy. 
Somraj, the singer who lost his voice is, succinctly put, a "madman who finds music in the croaking of the frogs". His loves story with Elli Barber - the Amrikan who wins over the Khaufpuris, their love and trust is yet another landmark of the narrative. 
           But above all, it is Animal a four-footed human, his unending desire for sex, his foul mouth and free spirit that win you over. Everyone is going 'fishguts' and they are all 'buggers'. His raillery with Farouq is so hate-filled, you know instantly that they will be *turn on screechy voice* - BFFs. He laughs inspite of his misery, and in turn teaches you to laugh at your own. And just when you think he is going to be single forever, he finds Anjali, who likes him despite his uniqueness.
           The book has some very beautiful thoughts on music, love, justice, freedom, sex - what is it to be human? Animal, isn't an animal. It is not our form that defines, it is what we think of ourselves. There is especially one part I like where Elli Barber is telling someone that the shanty looks like it was made out of an earthquake. Animal over hears this and has an overwhelming urge to flee this dirty place. It tells us how only an outsider changes our perception of things we are too familiar with. Indians have had this medicine all too often.  
          Go read the book. I didn't like it initially, it reminded me of Life of Pi by Yann Martel, also a Man Booker Prize Winner. But as you progress, you're sure to fall in love with these filthy yet very human Animal's people.

PS: Don't miss the four line poems along. Also, Thanks to Flipkart for their fast delivery. 
Buy it here - http://www.flipkart.com/animal-apos-s-people/p/itmdx92yfjcevhyp?pid=9781416526278&otracker=from-search&srno=t_1&query=Animal%27s+People&ref=600bb0a0-b867-4662-95c2-2e13d816d65f