Saturday, November 01, 2008

Ranjit Lal - Life and Times of Altu Faltu

How do I write about a book that captivated me, let me count the ways.

I could say the book is delightful, funny and amazing and still feel I have not said enough. These adjectives sound jaded and used. I could hit the thesaurus site to look for better words, but they would feel too high flown. There were passages in the book that made me laugh out loud, but most times the laughter rumbled deep in my stomach, as I recognised characters in the book from real life, and their idiosyncrasies that are so well brought out.

The writing style is unassuming, fresh and very very functional. By which I mean there are no linguistic flourishes here meant to show off the writers superior vocabulary, that when he writes a passage it serves to highlight an event or detail to its best. It does not mean the language is not lyrical, it is, but not all the time which means at no time does the language cloy in your mouth.

Sample this : "The Lodhi Gardens are certainly the most prestigious amongst Delhi's public gardens: if you are rich, famous, bureaucratic and overweight, and live in Central Delhi, that's where you go every morning and evening to vigourously atone for the sin of being fat in a thin country. The gardens, built around the solid, solemn tombs of the Sayyids and Lodhis, are beautifully laid out with pleasent undulating lawns, tall, dark and handsome trees, rainbow beds of flowers (especially in February and March) and a curving waterway where kingfishers flash and egrets fish."

The story? Well it is about Altu Faltu, a skinny monkey who has chosen to while away his days lounging around the Hindu Rao College and is addicted to cough linctus. For some reason Rani-beti, a princess of the Falstaff clan has fallen for him, and Altu Faltu finds his lazy days change. You see, Chaudhray Rai Bahadur Charbi Saheb has not taken kindly to his daughter flirting with such a wastrel. The love story of Altu-Faltu the bekar bander of the hazel eyes and Rani-beti the pretty princess with golden eyes and pixie ears is played out on the background of political turmoil, social upheaveals and WAR between various factions of monkey tribes for supremacy. Religion is also mixed with politics when Swami Palang Tode the wise monkey appears on the scene. Sex can never be far away when life abounds with so much vigour. From the pretty bandaris of the Khyber Pass Massage Parlour to concubines and multiple wives, there are plenty of interfering females here to change the course of simian history.

What is the most endearing feature of the book? The names given to the characters and places. Apart from the Chaudhry Charbi Singh, there are his wives named - Bibi-ek, Bibi-do and Bibi-teen whose goings on would put the harem of a Mughal court to shame. Then there is monkey Leechad who wishes to curry favour with the Chaudhry so he could close to the beautiful Bibi-do. There is Brigadier who is ever-ready for war, Chamkili of the beautiful smile, the Kacha Banian Gang run by Kacha and Banian the supari monkeys, Ghungroo the nautch monkey.

On a serious note, the book is a marvellous and a gentle satire on our life and times. Although we may be tempted to call it the modern Panchtantra, it is never ever preachy like those ancient fables. The author is a faithful historian, not a pontificating one.

In these times of shit-lit, when you can print a book faster than a monkey grabbing a sweet off your hands, it is a wonder to come across such an unassuming author, who published such a masterpeice. Ranjit Lal the author is a famous naturalist. His new book on the wildlife of Delhi has just come out.

Here is what Roli Books has to say about him : "Ranjit Lal was born in Calcutta in 1955, and educated in Mumbai, graduating in economics and sociology. As a freelance writer and columnist, he has over a thousand articles, short stories, features and photo-features published in over fifty newspapers and magazines in India and abroad. He has special interest in areas like natural history, photography, humour, satire and automobiles, on which he writes for both adults and children. He is one of the few Indian journalists to write satire and humour on a sustained basis. He has authored several books including The Crow Chronicles, The Life and Times of Altu Faltu, That Summer at Kalagarh, The Bossman Adventures, Enjoying Birds, Birds of Delhi, Birds from My Window and The Caterpillar Who Went on a Diet and Other Stories and When Banshee Kissed Bimbo. Ranjit Lal lives in Delhi."

The book is magnificent and a must read for lovers of good fiction.


10 comments:

Smita said...

Bini ef bibi do, monkey leechad....lol....

This book is for me for sure...You know Ruskin Bind in his stories has several times talked about this pet monkey of his...the story was so endearing....u shud read 'Funy Side Up' by him fun-tastic book ....

Am gonna look out for this book for sure...

Lovely review looks you are smitten by it :)

couchpapaya said...

u know as i was reading it suddenly hit me that i have read very few works of humor and satire by indian authors. mean to rememdy this as soon as i can get my hands on this book. i seem to have read an interview with the author somewhere but ur review has done a far, far better job of makign me itch to get my hands on this one. just as a great review ought to do. will read! thanks for reviewing, as always :D

Ava said...

Eggjacktly - CP n Smita. You know my first love is Ruskin Bond.. I will try n get hold of tht book.

CP - you are so right. This is one satire that really delivers. I picked up this book after I read that interview by Jai Arjun too - hehe - and was amply rewarded.

Vee said...

Altu Faltu....hahaha, aisa bhi log naam rakhte hai book ka.. sahi hai..

If its satire on our life then its worth reading but pata nahi kya ho gaya hai. I am not able to read at all since last 2 weeks.. aur upar se I got my White Tiger delivered today...

samir said...

I am sold, will read this soon.
Really well written, are you in advertising/marketing/book-publishing by any chance ?
Always love books laced with humor, as CP mentioned it earlier, there is a dearth of humorous Indian books.
Thanks for a great review on what is sure to be a great book

Ava said...

oxy - bahut sahi kitab hai. you should drink less n read more .. apne aap time mil jayega.

samir - thanks.. nahi yaar.. i work for a newspaper but in the admn side. writing is a passion for me. :) Do do do read the book. I feel particularly because such books dont get glamour coverage and sit on the sidelines while crappy books are written about all over the place.

mystiquedew said...

ah...so this is wot they mean when they say monkey -se*?

*grins*

nice review:)

Bhargavi said...

after this review i must read it .. Shit-lit huh? lol..

Anonymous said...

Is it a satire on Indian politics

Ava said...

Anon, more like a satire on society.