An endearing, predictable portrayal of Calcutta life

Amit Chaudhuri writes on nothing in particular. His novels scarcely have any plot. They are written in a relaxed manner, with almost each line containing delightful descriptions that are meant to be read slowly, in leisure. He describes a rag used to clean tables as, "clean like the soul of a wronged criminal." The simple act of eating with your hands at lunch is observed as a ballet of the fingers. His poetic sentences perform a lovely slow dance with each other, progressing into succeeding chapters like dancers gracefully making their way into the next room. 

And these rooms have all sorts of stories to tell. Sandeep, in A Strange and Sublime Address, is visiting his Choto Mama's house in Calcutta on his holiday. He has come from Bombay and his outsider perspective on Calcutta and the way his family behaves is frighteningly beautiful. Amit Chaudhuri writes in a controlled way. His prose, at times, succeeds in being both vibrant and distant at the same time. 

His characters act the way society tells them to. They go about their lives, without any question, doing the same things and behaving predictably towards their relatives — there's no question of "is this what we are supposed to do?" Questioning yourself, your social customs, 'life', or any other thing for that matter has become, for the lack of a better word, 'common', and it is, as hard as it could be to understand, refreshing to play according to a given role, idling your life away and being submerged in the subtle intricacies of that given role as time passes. 

As much as I was impressed by Chaudhuri's realistic portrayals of everything in poetic language, his treatment of children does irritate me, more so than normally, because his is the kind of writing where I hoped all our 'shocking' customs would be exposed with theatrics, the same way magicians pull up the red cloth to show us what was supposed to be underneath isn't. But instead, his children behave with a fake innocence that is tiring. When you depict grownups you can get away with them following all the so-called 'rules' of how they should be behaving, it's when it comes to children that you have to keep in mind the unpredictability, the eccentricity of their actions, and let those very things show in your work as well. But that's just me. 

I would eagerly recommend Amit Chaudhuri's novels. His magic lies in dumping his characters inside a retro studio full of beautiful imagery and – so that the actual fast paced realities cannot disturb them – slamming the door shut.