Where Is The Monkey?

I am intrigued by an urban phenomenon which almost borders on 10th century superstition but is taking place in 21st century modern, technology-driven India. The book Monkey-Man uses that phenomena as its title and I picked it up with enthusiasm. I was all the more eager because I had missed the movie Delhi 6. With racy immediacy the book   starts with multiple people sighting the monkey-man in Bangalore’s (now Bengaluru’s) Ammanagudi Street. However, after Page 6, the next time we meet a reference to the Monkey-man is on page 235.

In between, Usha K. R. takes us through the ups and downs of a set of assorted common people in  Bangalore and familiarises us with their stories. Quite efficiently she links them up to each other, the way the narrow entwined lanes of Bangalore always lead you to the main road. But what happened to the Monkey-man?

When I go to buy Kodbele, I do not want Chakli. I understand it is hard to write about a mere sighting of a man/animal, even though it has been sighted in various cities and as the post-script tells us has caused considerable havoc around the country. Yet to use that phenomenon as a title and not elaborate on it did not seem like a very good idea to me.

That aside, the character descriptions are excellent and so is the language. Usha has quite dextrously woven in the recent history of Bangalore – IT, BPOs, construction activities, radio jockey, college left-wing politics and familial situations in the changing times – into the lives of her characters. Each of her characters gets adequate space and is nuanced intimately and they are all loosely linked to create the finale.

The problem with the book is that because it starts with a diversion the reader does not get a handle on the story. You may want to read it if you are really interested in character sketches and as a lesson in making common lives interesting but not if you are looking for some action or if you are looking to unravel an urban legend. I felt Usha’s good writing and excellent characters would have become lively if she had chosen a different angle to tell her story and held the reader by the main action and not the characters sketches. Like most of modern Bangalore, this is a case of the scaffolding standing in for the building.

Amandeep Sandhu is the author of Sepia Leaves, Rupa and Co