Chowringhee: Sankar

Image Credit: The Guardian

Phew I just finished this long, tiresome book. Actually, it’s not at all tiresome according to most of the reviews I have seen but I just could not keep up my interest after a point. Sankar’s “Chowringhee” talks about the eponymously named street in 1950s Calcutta, the equivalent of Sunset Boulevard where all the glamorous beings congregate at sundown at the magnificent Shahjahan Hotel. Told from the viewpoint of Shankar, a new recruit at the hotel, Chowringhee chronicles different shades of human lives, heaves with emotions, humor and keen observations.

Yes, I know it sounds the right mix. But I frankly did not enjoy it as much as The Middleman, although this book came out later. It was Chowringhee that catapulted Sankar into the famed writers circle but it was Middleman that is unforgettable in my mind.

Since Chowringhee is about the goings on at a luxury hotel it automatically invites comparison with Arthur Hailey’s “Hotel,” which according to Wikipedia came out three years after Sankar’s epic. I had read Hotel way long back, I think when I was in school, and I remember thoroughly being entertained by its story. It was gripping and by the time I finished I had walked through the corridors in a hotel that are usually closed to the customers. To be fair, Sankar guides you through in a very similar manner. I got to know the privileges of hierarchy, the unbelievable whims of guests that the manager is expected to fulfil at any time of the day, their many secrets that a hotel guards close and just simply the way an entire hotel functions. It’s a totally different world altogether.

Sankar’s characters are vividly sketched and he has an entire medley. Each has his or her own story to tell and they range from plain strange to heartwarming to saddening. Perhaps it is some of these stories that got me yawning because some of them were long winded. The narrative lacked a certain undercurrent that holds your attention and at times it got a bit confusing.

Well, as I said I know I am right down there with the minority (if there is one even!) but that’s IMHO, truly. I wouldn’t discourage any of you from reading the book because it has its merits and passages that are worth reading. Am actually curious to know what you think if you, who are reading this, have read this book, so do leave comments.

Verdict: Personally found it boring, but please give it a try

Rating: 2.8/5