Chatting up Chatterjee
2 Feb 2013 11:04 PM GMT
I always feel embarassed when I am asked to read from a book that is 24 years old,’ exclaimed Upamanyu Chatterjee at a session of the Jaipur Literature Festival, where he was expected to do just that. Chatterjee might feel shy of still receiving accolades for a book that is more than two decades old, but his readers, if the packed Durbar hall of Diggi Palace, the venue for the book reading, is any indication, aren’t tired of hearing him talk about it. The crowds turned up at Diggi Palace to not only hear Chatterjee read passages from his book, but to question him about it and get their personal copies of English, August signed by the author.
If the test of a classic is that it stands the test of time, then Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English, August definitely deserves a place in the archives of modern Indian classics. Chatterjee burst in to the still nascent field of Indian writing in English with his debut novel in 1988, and was hailed as the next big thing. It is roughly 25 years since English, August was published (1998 to 2013). Though he did come up with several books - The Last Burden, Mammaries of the Welfare State, Weight Loss and Way to Go, none were as famous as English, August.
Many had expected Chatterjee to take up writing as a full time occupation, but like his protagonist Agastya Sen, Chatterjee settles down to being a civil servant. And when he does come to lit meets, he hardly gives a straight answer to any of the questions put to him, evading them with witty one-liners. It is as if Chatterjee is mostly having an inner dialogue and he can’t be bothered to share what amuses him.
For many it is difficult to peg him right - is he a happy -civil servant-cum-reluctant-author, or reluctant-civil-servant-come-happy-author? And yet his often arrogant and wicked humour does little to diminish his popularity. ‘He reminds me of Sir Humphrey Appleby from Yes Minister,’ said a delighted young member of the audience, after Chatterjee had given a long-winded answer to a question relating to his portrayal of the civil services, which pretty much said nothing.
The world and times of Agastya Sen and his creator are very different from the present. Agastya is the product of an urban India that was still very colonial in its ways. The India that it presents is the India that was being shown in the offbeat cinemas that made actors like Rahul Bose famous. Marijuana and masturbation may tie him to the youth of today, but the number of those who have their heads full of Marcus Aurelius, would be significantly lower than in Agastya’s time. While Agastya would raise his eyebrows at his subordinate’s use of ‘hardly must’ in conversation, today’s generation thrives on ‘we are like this, only’ attitude. Information explosion on television and the online media has ensured a fading of the divide between the urban and the rural world. Yet what continues to ensure the appeal of Agastya’s at times confused and at times sharp presentation of the dichotomy between his upbringing and his surroundings, is the mystery that creates a classic.
If the test of a classic is that it stands the test of time, then Upamanyu Chatterjee’s English, August definitely deserves a place in the archives of modern Indian classics. Chatterjee burst in to the still nascent field of Indian writing in English with his debut novel in 1988, and was hailed as the next big thing. It is roughly 25 years since English, August was published (1998 to 2013). Though he did come up with several books - The Last Burden, Mammaries of the Welfare State, Weight Loss and Way to Go, none were as famous as English, August.
Many had expected Chatterjee to take up writing as a full time occupation, but like his protagonist Agastya Sen, Chatterjee settles down to being a civil servant. And when he does come to lit meets, he hardly gives a straight answer to any of the questions put to him, evading them with witty one-liners. It is as if Chatterjee is mostly having an inner dialogue and he can’t be bothered to share what amuses him.
For many it is difficult to peg him right - is he a happy -civil servant-cum-reluctant-author, or reluctant-civil-servant-come-happy-author? And yet his often arrogant and wicked humour does little to diminish his popularity. ‘He reminds me of Sir Humphrey Appleby from Yes Minister,’ said a delighted young member of the audience, after Chatterjee had given a long-winded answer to a question relating to his portrayal of the civil services, which pretty much said nothing.
The world and times of Agastya Sen and his creator are very different from the present. Agastya is the product of an urban India that was still very colonial in its ways. The India that it presents is the India that was being shown in the offbeat cinemas that made actors like Rahul Bose famous. Marijuana and masturbation may tie him to the youth of today, but the number of those who have their heads full of Marcus Aurelius, would be significantly lower than in Agastya’s time. While Agastya would raise his eyebrows at his subordinate’s use of ‘hardly must’ in conversation, today’s generation thrives on ‘we are like this, only’ attitude. Information explosion on television and the online media has ensured a fading of the divide between the urban and the rural world. Yet what continues to ensure the appeal of Agastya’s at times confused and at times sharp presentation of the dichotomy between his upbringing and his surroundings, is the mystery that creates a classic.
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