Book Review: The Inexplicable Unhappiness of Ramu Hajjam
The book brings out in detail the soul of an average village in India
Arun Koshy Philip arun.k@postnoon.comThe story of this village is actually the story of thousands of villages in India which dot the vast swathes of territory controlled by Maoists. The thrashing of an otherwise inconsequential barber by a high caste man triggers a chain of events which turns the sleepy village into a battleground for supremacy between two forces.
The plot revolves around the life of Ramu, a barber. He lives a mechanical hand-to-mouth existence and doesn’t do much about his ordeal once he recovers from the shock. However, the future has something else in store for the villages when Ramu’s son Pawan decides his father’s humiliation must be avenged.
The book brings out in detail the soul of an average village in India. The concept of modernity hasn’t made much inroads and an ironclad caste system dictates lives and social status, no matter what job one does. Poverty and indebtedness is all-pervading, reducing lives to struggle for daily bread and repaying loans. Some youths migrate to urban centres seeking greener pastures but nothing changes for those who stay back. The story shows how left-wing extremism influences in areas where existence of government is merely for name’s sake.
This village, where no vote has been cast from the lower caste is a fertile recruitment ground for ‘revolution’.
A complex maze of social equations, economic conditions and various degrees of exploitation hold together the characters’ lives and the plot. As each side battles for domination and protection of their interests, a way of life is changing forever.
The writer has adopted an innovative style of using Ramu’s dreams to give the readers an inkling of what lies in store. However, the narrative uses a slow paced style that is a drab to sustain one’s interest.
Name: The Inexplicable Unhappiness of Ramu Hajjam
Author: Taj Hassan
Pages: 234
Publisher: Hachette India
Category: Books
About the Author (Author Profile)
My interests lie in current affairs, social issues and political analysis. A strong believer of independent thinking and healthy scepticism.
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