English,August!

I finished reading "English,August" 2 days back.A 1988 novel about the experiences of an ultra-urban Delhi guy(from a "Generation that does not oil it's hair") who gets posted in the hot village of Madna as an IAS officer.The novel is highly funny and rib-tickling.I burst out laughing at some lines.Witty and intelligent,the novel will put off any reader of the fairer sex because of it's vulgarity and on-your-face ugliness.Agastya Sen ranks alongside Salim Sinai,Linbaba and others in the world of Indian writing in English.He reminded me of Saki's "The Open Window" when Agastya spins stories about his wife and family.(Romance at short notice was his speciality!)

The following paragraph is a standing proof of how funny the work is:

*In his essay Agastya had said that his real ambition was to be a domesticated male stray dog because they lived the best life.They were assured of food,and because they were stray they didn't have to guard a house or beg or shake paws or fetch trifles or be clean or anything similarly meaningless to earn their food.They were servile and syncophantic when hungry;A stray dog was free;he slept a lot,barked unexpectantly and got a lot of sex.But to his indignation,the stupid teacher had made him read out his essay to the class.

Some more:

*He was honest,intelligent and satisfied with his life;He was rare.

*He's the sort who'd love to get AIDS just because it's raging in America.

*There are many indigenous methods of suicide.You could change sex,kill your husband if he doesn't die on his own,and burn yourself on his pyre;Sati!

*Gandhi finds it embarrassing to say that his wife is pregnant;because he thinks it's as good as saying,we've been fucking.

*In his state of mind marriage was awfully remote - like a death in a road accident, it was something that happened to other people.

The ending of the story is debatable.But for me,the journey is reason enough to celebrate "English,August".