~~~Postmortom of a Death in Snow~~~. Review on Rich Like Us - Nayantara Sahgal

If relatives are like this, we don't need enemies. Oops. This relative is said to be Nehru's niece but the author is not nice to Nehru or his daughter or his grand children. The author, Nayantara Sahgal call Nehru's daughter as Madam in the book, Rich Like US, but look like more pun intended. Very sad that Madam saab impli-mentored an Emer-gen-t-see session and the son start ster-n-ilizing people for pains.

If patriots are like this, no need of waiting for traitors. Saad saad, the POV is too much of white than black. They say black is the colour of death but why they put white cloths on dead people? No wonder the book published in snow than in the heat of Indian summer. Even Gandhi likes snow, you know!

If Jury is like this, no way I can expect an award. Very sad. There are novels written for ordinary people, there are novels written for intellectual people but this is one novel written to read by Juries and jury alone. In my early morning dreams I had a repeated dream that I am winning a Sahitya Acadamy Award. I try to make my mind believe that I can do that. Then, after reading this novel, knowing that it has won the Acadamy award, I now know that my early morning dream is not going to materialise. The author herself is a member of book judging jury for internationally acclaimed awards and had walked Sahitya Acadamy corridors, what hope non-readers like us hold? On the other hand, how easy to preach and how difficult to practice? The novel, Rich Like US follows the Award winning formula of using metaphors and reflecting on past and present of politics, religion, personal life etc. However, what fails the book is its narration which is bad like any school text book which will make you sleep. Pages and pages of preaching and montonous description don't help to keep any interest (or sympathy)one generates for the odd characters in a non existing story. The metaphors, sarcasm, everything is fine but before we realise there is something we can dig in it, the interest in the book is completely taken off.

It is said to be story of two woman, Rose, an unwanted white leftover and Sonali, an emergency thrown out. Then, it is the story of many others and many a times the connection is that it is printed in one book's pages. Drama is not something you can expect from this novel.

The writing style is not steady. If some part of a paragraph is easily readable, some part of it may remind us of old English writers who uses lot of comas, and conjunctions to make the record of longest sentence. This doesn't help. If novels are like this, no need of essays. Emergency, Quit India Movement, Sati, World War and Hitler, Krishna's 300 wives and Blind Kunti, Holy trinity, Gandhi, Nehru, Mount Baton, Edwina, Rajaram Mohan Rai, Mughal empire, Communism, Capitalism, Feminism, Colonialism, China, political corruption, Industry, ....you will find hundred and one topics and two hundred and one point of views and each additional subject adding to the confusion of existing chaos. If the author had given the summary and moral of the story at the end of each chapter, it would have been much better for less oriented readers like me. On the positive side, it has lot of thoughts and insights from the author and at times it is told with humor also. Then, the damage was done in the initial chapters and even if few pages get your attention another extra dose of description of POVs will kill them immediately.

The book cover was so plastic for the subject in hand and I had my doubts before purchasing the book. Then, in the absence of free availability of Indian books I purchased it, taking a risk. Sad, but we don't win every time in a gamble. This is the kind of book I wish I receive back my money and time but sad I know I will not get back them, both!