By Suresh Gopalaswamy
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Author: Anita Nair Pub: Harper Collins Pages: 329 Price: Rs.399 |
Anita Nair is a highly talented writer who for some reason is ignored when 'serious' Indian writers are talked about. You see volumes on the terribly overrated Kiran Desai and a host of under-talented wannabes. Starting on a slightly unsure note with the 'Ladies Coupe' Nair has matured into a writer who should be taken very seriously indeed. Anyone with the slightest doubt on her skills as a novelist should read 'Mistress'. And now - Lessons In Forgetting.
For a novel that apparently was to be light reading, it looks at some very grim aspects of life without pessimism or pedantry. An abandoned wife, a brutalized daughter, broken marriages and loneliness are elements that populate the landscape of this novel. And the device of using stages of cyclone is a clever stratagem that does not let the reader forget the tragedy that shadows all events but not the characters in the novel.
'It is this very real ability to cling to hope and courage that mark the actions of each of the protagonists that give the novel its unique feel. Meera, J A (Jak) Krishnamoorthi, Smrithi, Giri, Lily, Saro, all have very dark reasons to despair but choose to hope. Hope for a second chance; for light at the end of the tunnel.Meera's husband walks out of her life without warning one day plunging her from the comfortable life of a corporate wife to the edge of destitution. Jak has his world turned upside down when his daughter is rendered comatose following a visit to seaside village in Kerala. Meera and Jak are thrown together by circumstances. Lessons in Forgetting is the story of Meera, Jak and all those who matter to them finding redemption, love and reasons to live again.
Deft characterization has always been Nair's strength. Meera is someone you have met at your office party. Jak is not different from your NRI cousin. With surprising economy of words the author creates each of these persons who live, love, lose and regain all that is lost. Especially the women. Whether it is Meera, Vinnie or Kala -- each one has a private battle that she wins with a strength that is unique to her. The plot is well crafted. Settings cut a wide swathe from a small seaside town to a busy metropolis. Events ranging from ordinary to tumultuous all are handled with the ease of a writer who is sure of her craft and art. She writes unflinchingly on intimacy and unrelentingly on tragedy. Her ability to juggle all the events, locations and emotions with consummate ease makes for an engaging reading experience.
As she did with her very first novel Anita Nair firmly creates a distinct space for herself. A space for readers who have moved up from Shobha De but do not have the appetite for Salman Rushdie.