Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Chowringhee

Chowringhee
  - Sankar

Chowringhee was a very interesting read, and quite a different fare from what I usually go for.

It captures the romance of a bygone era, when grand hotels and travel was the privilege of select few. It gives a glimpse of what Calcutta would have been like at that time, though it could have taken place anywhere else. It is as much about the life and workings of a large, popular hotel, as it is about the human nature in general. On one hand is the picture of sophistication and the luxury that the world sees, while on the other is the pain and misery of those who create the facade of this glitz for others, and the shallowness of many of those who live this life of glamor. There is compassion and cruelty, kindness and petty jealousies there are desires that defy all convention and even rational thought, triumph and loss of spirit, rise and decline of fortunes; while the world outside, oblivious and insensitive, goes on.

The story starts slow and sad, and then picks up pace and interest, before coming to a relatively quick, bitter end. It is sensitive, with subtle changes of mood. At the same time, it has a lot of drama - it is like a stage where characters come, and leave after fulfilling their small role in the larger scheme of things. But the end is a little too tragic, and perhaps avoidable.

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