Coming to this summer of 2017, I finally bought the book and read it all over again. I could sense the difference I felt as a teenager and now as the middle-aged woman reading it. My take on the entire incestuous relationship and even the moral conflict in Ammu-Velutha relationship had changed drastically.
So for my 32nd birthday, N gifted me 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness' and I was excited and started reading it right away. It took me 3 months to complete the novel and once again I am overwhelmed by the literary skill of Arundhati Roy and haven't read any book that matches the kind of attention to details she brings in.
The book was a kind of revelation to me. It is majorly about the separatist insurgency in Kashmir and the atrocities committed by Indian Military Forces in the name of counter strikes there. Such a sensitive topic was not something I expected in the novel. And yeah, one of the main protagonist is a eunuch. So all together - Serendipity.
But on finishing the novel after three months of going back and forth between pages that dealt with issues of national importance, I am disappointed. Halfway through the book, I felt that all the characters were moulded in a way so that the ending will be perfectly fit the jigsaw puzzle of the author's literary propaganda. The story is biased. And to talk about a contemporary issue that is so sensitive with such judgmental views is purely propaganda.
Anjum (the celebrated eunuch) is a character with such an intricate background; and yet in the middle of the story she vanishes to the background. And then Tilo aka Tilottama and her absurdities carry the narration. Anjum and Tilo's path crosses at Jantar-Mantar where we are introduced to Miss Jebeen, the Second. When they merge as the residents at Mannat, which is the Ministry of Utmost Happiness, everything seems to be forced to do justice to the title and impending climax. The whole entrance of Tilo and Miss Udaya Jebeen is so thorny and confusing.
The whole novel moves around Musa, who is the invisible thread that connects each character. He is Tilo's lover and guide. Musa is the main protagonist - without a body - but his presence is felt everywhere. Sometimes it feels like the whole point of the novel is to show Musa as the much deliberate one with real life qualities. Certainly Tilo's character is shadowed and as Musa says to her "When you see what you see and hear what you hear, you won’t have a choice"; that's what the author wanted to convey after all. That the Kashmiris are crying out loud for a separate nation!
My notion is that the novel has an intellectual aura. And it is trying to bribe normal citizens who have no idea whatsoever about the issues in Kashmir into supporting the separatist ideals. Also, I could strongly feel that Mariyam Ipe is completely Baby Kochamma from GoST and even Tilo is a rip-off of Rahel. Musa and Velutha have so many similarities but yes, it's an author's weakness to be inspired by her own characters.
I finished the novel, and only then I understood the front cover illustration - It's Begum Renata Mumtaj's grave adorned by a rose. Period.
P.S. If Major Ravi happens to read this novel, he will probably have a heart attack. I hope he doesn't!
The book was a kind of revelation to me. It is majorly about the separatist insurgency in Kashmir and the atrocities committed by Indian Military Forces in the name of counter strikes there. Such a sensitive topic was not something I expected in the novel. And yeah, one of the main protagonist is a eunuch. So all together - Serendipity.
But on finishing the novel after three months of going back and forth between pages that dealt with issues of national importance, I am disappointed. Halfway through the book, I felt that all the characters were moulded in a way so that the ending will be perfectly fit the jigsaw puzzle of the author's literary propaganda. The story is biased. And to talk about a contemporary issue that is so sensitive with such judgmental views is purely propaganda.
Anjum (the celebrated eunuch) is a character with such an intricate background; and yet in the middle of the story she vanishes to the background. And then Tilo aka Tilottama and her absurdities carry the narration. Anjum and Tilo's path crosses at Jantar-Mantar where we are introduced to Miss Jebeen, the Second. When they merge as the residents at Mannat, which is the Ministry of Utmost Happiness, everything seems to be forced to do justice to the title and impending climax. The whole entrance of Tilo and Miss Udaya Jebeen is so thorny and confusing.
The whole novel moves around Musa, who is the invisible thread that connects each character. He is Tilo's lover and guide. Musa is the main protagonist - without a body - but his presence is felt everywhere. Sometimes it feels like the whole point of the novel is to show Musa as the much deliberate one with real life qualities. Certainly Tilo's character is shadowed and as Musa says to her "When you see what you see and hear what you hear, you won’t have a choice"; that's what the author wanted to convey after all. That the Kashmiris are crying out loud for a separate nation!
My notion is that the novel has an intellectual aura. And it is trying to bribe normal citizens who have no idea whatsoever about the issues in Kashmir into supporting the separatist ideals. Also, I could strongly feel that Mariyam Ipe is completely Baby Kochamma from GoST and even Tilo is a rip-off of Rahel. Musa and Velutha have so many similarities but yes, it's an author's weakness to be inspired by her own characters.
I finished the novel, and only then I understood the front cover illustration - It's Begum Renata Mumtaj's grave adorned by a rose. Period.
P.S. If Major Ravi happens to read this novel, he will probably have a heart attack. I hope he doesn't!
Nicely written...
ReplyDeletePS . I haven't read the book u mentioned,but will do surely.
Thank you.
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