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Vivek Shanbhag has added another gem in the treasure-chest of Indian literature, and Srinath Perur has opened the door to this masterpiece for the entire country and the world by wonderfully translating it into English. ‘Ghachar Ghochar’ is a tightly plotted psychological story in which the fates of the people reach a point from where, perhaps nothing can be undone. It means ‘tangled’, in a way that cannot be undone. It has been coined playfully by one of the characters. The term ‘Ghachar Ghochar’ does not exist in any language at all. By the time you reach the end, the book will leave you deeply moved.
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The image of a common family drama might have crossed your mind for a second while reading this, but let me assure you, it is not just that. Do the family members stay together for each other’s sake or for their own interest? Is the closely-knit nature of the family the reason behind their troubles?Īnita, the narrator’s wife, enters the story as a stark contrast to the other characters, and the narrator is unable to balance between the opposing nature of values of his wife and the other members of the family. You will find important questions subtly weaved amidst the intricacies of relationships. Nobody questions anything, nobody bothers to communicate. As a family, the action of each member is affecting the others and there is an uncomfortable silence hanging over them. In 117 pages, the author takes you through the journey of a family from rags to riches, and the price they pay for it. He offers the narrator bits of his wisdom without going into details.
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Troubled by these changes, the narrator seeks solace in a cafe where the waiter named Vincent seems to understand his problems even without asking. Yet they had to face undesirable situations. Their financial situation improved drastically. They moved to a new and considerably larger house in another part of Bangalore. Things began to change fast as the business became more and more profitable. He started a business in spices, and made his elder brother an owner of fifty percent of the business. In this moment of disaster, his uncle stepped in to rescue the family. The loss of his father’s job came as a big shock for the family. Yet, there was happiness and unity in the family. Even the smallest bit of money was spent with extra caution. All the members of the family survived on his father’s meagre income as a salesperson. The narrator is a young man who reminisces about his own childhood, when he lived in a small, dark, ant-infested house with his parents, uncle (his father’s brother) and his sister. It appears in the story as a trivial matter, but towards the end, it acquires a larger meaning. The meaning of the word has not been initially revealed in the book. As the book has been written originally in Kannada–a language I do not know, I wrongly assumed that it is an expression in the same language. When I found out about this book for the first time, I was quite intrigued by the title. When there’s only a little, it behaves meekly when it grows, it becomes brash and has its way with us.” “It’s not we who control money, it’s the money that controls us.