So I read Yatrik by Arnab Ray. Highly awaited, his third novel does not disappoint. Reading it brought about a tumult of emotion. Poignant and insightful with an underlying thread of dry humor. You know the kind that says "Life is what happens when you are busy planning other things".
The story is about Anushtup Chatterjee who wakes up to realize he is dead. I quiet like stories where the "end" is the "beginning". Not all authors can do this convincingly. Starting the book with the end result and working your way back to the details of the story. The opening pages of the book are my favorite with Anushtup being told he has died and the vivid description of the darkness and stillness of the surroundings. Eerie and strangely calming. Arnab does a fantastic job of portraying middle class India. Anushtup is easy to relate to and shows this perfect balance of idealism and human flaws that makes him three dimensional.The book explores themes of family, ambition, Kolkata and death. By starting the story with death, Arnab deals with a core fear that resides in all of us. The fear of dying. The fear of anonymity. The fear of mediocrity.
The story flows with ease exploring Anushtup's life, his choices and the reasons his life didn't turn out the way he had hoped for. His troubled relationship with his parents ( the foundation), his sense of identity through educational accomplishments ( the middle) and his dissatisfaction with the cards that life has dealt him (the end). Why is it so common for people to feel this sense of entitlement from life? This particular emotion was a bit too close for comfort. The lassitude from the seemingly unfair treatment of life. This false sense of entitlement led Anushtup to tempt fate maybe?
Themes of Karma run strong throughout but also depict the interconnected maze of actions. It is not your actions alone that affect life but also the actions and choices of others. And sometimes one has no control over this power others seem to hold over your life's outcomes. Anushtup's struggles though sad, do convey a sense of justice and peace. It is what it is. Arnab's writing style ensures the book is thought provoking like a little nudge yet not depressing, for the protagonist has died after all, having lived an unsuccessful life by middle class Indian standards. There is a lot of Bengali cultural references (for obvious reasons) but I did not find that annoying because there is a universal Desi element that ties it all together.
Notable mentions from the book are the author's opening lines, the description of the middle class psyche on job security ( a desk job however demeaning is better than a service job), the concept of forgiveness and empathy expressed by Sumit Datta ( read the book to find out who he is). The ending seemed slightly rushed but was a satisfactory finish.Reading the book is indeed a "Yatra". A short and deeply engrossing one.
P.S. Why the name Anushtup? I confess, non-Bengali me had difficulty keeping the name straight.
