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For the local reader it brings together the paradoxically subtle yet eccentric tang of the colloquial tongue and the sphere of the bustling family that is shaped by it and that also does its bit to contour it. For the reader who is unfamiliar with the culture being written on, this book is a whole busy world that leads you to code and decode the intricacies – the stresses and joys – of being part of a tradition. Loved the episodes of the Ramtodi and plotted revenge of the denizens of the trees. Very rooted in its observations of the workings behind every character!
There are stories you wish you’d written, then there are stories you wish you’d lived in. The Awasthis of Aamnanagri is one such story that leaves you with the feeling of homesickness. You yearn more for your family after reading this.
You walk down the memory lane and savour those bittersweet moments of life. You ache for those summer breaks you spent at your grandmother’s place. You ache for her gentle pat on your back. You ache for the delicious food she made exclusively for you.
The Awasthi Family is a family of fourteen. The Lady boss of the house is Mata Ji (my absolute favourite character) who keeps the family from fraying out. She is like a coconut. She might seem strong and rigid from covering but she is soft and tender from her core.
With myriads of characters and several humorous incidents taking place in the ‘Paradise’, The Awasthis will not only give you the ‘hashtag’ family goals but also it will remind you why family is more important than ticking off items in your wish list.
Families are like the sweet mangoes of Aamnagri, messy, filled with juicy secrets and sticking together through all times. The Awasthis of Aamnagri are the quintessential Indian family, who bumble through their lives encountering missing jewels and stolen eggs, deaths foretold, averted and a suspected suicide with no body. The mysteries are solved by the inquisitive minds of young Lakshmi and Guddu and the saffron-clad Guruji.
The main element of the book is an acute and often humorous family drama, which paves the way for the many characters to play their roles amidst hubbub, excitement and vigour. The charming writing style soon takes us into a world of sepia tones and forgotten memories, making our hearts wrench with sweet feelings of homecoming. Home is home of all great literature and Sarma’s absorbing tale unfolds the saga of a family holding on to its customs to conflicts and a sense of displacement. The free flowing, spontaneous narrative style is appealing.
‘Awasthis of Aamnagri’ stays true to the quote that ‘Home is where the heart is’. Truly enough, it makes us realize that there was a point in our lives when all this quintessential drama and gossip was what made our days imbibe colour and vibration. Putting to play some really fantastic simple elements of family mystery, superstitions, secret expeditions, troubles and predicaments—this book has made me go beyond a life cocooned into a nuclear family, over the top of walls sedimented with cement and through roads that lead the way home.
The author has captured the Indianness of our lives very well. With charming agility, the Awasthis sail through life and its quirks. The advent of God-men, genuine and fake, is a source of both relief and embarrassment for them. But not for the Lady of the Mansion—Mataji. She is the sutradhar who strings this tale of silk sarees and talking parrots together, who handles bedridden bahus and in-danger bhaiyyas with equal ease, who is tyrannical and vulnerable at the same time. And through whom the Awasthi family discovers that happy endings come for a price—of truth and love.
The use of cliche phrases such as as “House is Bought, Home is Made“, and “Yes, if you look long enough, you will find a trace of beauty even in the ugliest object,” is rampant, and dulls the description. To its credit, the same cliched phrases work very well in dialogue. Take this scene for example, where Panditji and Mataji are arguing about his being present for a family visit. She says, “I tell you, your flourishing legal practice is f no avail if you can’t find the time for your near and dear ones. Who will be by our side when we are on our deathbed?“
This is typical, and thus, lends the scene an authenticity. A switch-up of language would also help break up the voices – of the narrator and the character.
The novel ends well and hopeful, if a little too conveniently. Younger readers may definitely find some of this a little dated, so its ideal for readers of age 25 and above, who may relate to summer spent at their mother’s maiden homes, when life, for its sameness, was sweet.
We could totally connect with it as most of us grew up in homes bursting at seams during summer with the arrival of extended family. The author has captured the Indianness of our lives very well. It is a superb work of fiction by Ms. Shubha Sharma.