The Red Carpet : Lavanya Sankaran

Image Credit: Goodreads

After a very long hiatus, I am back. It was an eventful, hectic and ultimately unforgettable 5+ months in China. All those months I was away from the blogging world, Blogspot blocked by the Great Firewall of China. And indeed all those months, I was away from the world of books. It's strange how this happens - I have been to China 4 times now - 3 of those times have been extended stays. And somehow, I never felt the lack of a book. It's almost like life is too full to wrap myself around a book, sacrilegious as that sounds! Not lack of time, as many bemoan to explain their lack of reading, but just a lack of need. I didn't feel the need to read a book.

But now, back in India, and the hunger is back. The only difference is that each time I turn the pages of a book, I guiltily glance at the stack of Chinese textbooks that sit on my bed. Shouldn't I really be studying those? Despite these guilty imps at the back of my mind, I finished Lavanya Sankaran's captivating debut collection of short stories, The Red Carpet.

Set in Bangalore, my hometown, Sankaran does a wonderful job of weaving the innate chaos and beauty (what little is left ) of this city. Her pace never flags, and each one of the stories invite you into a little world all of its own, and when you reach the end, you are left wishing...why is it a short story only! Couldn't there be more, please? I especially liked the fact that Sankaran does not make poverty into an exotic marketing product here. In fact, apart from one story about Raju, the chauffeur who develops a strange bond with his memsahib, most of the stories deal with the Bangalore I am familiar with - from the old crotchety senior citizens, waiting life out while their children "settle" in America to the hip yuppie set, the entrepreneurs, to the rich young set, hosting lavish parties - poverty is really not in the framework of this book. And I am glad. Sankaran presents a Bangalore that is all too real - just as real as poverty is - in the affluence, in the hype, in the bluster, there is everything about this city that is to be loved and reviled. Through it all, there is a rich vein of humor, but at the same time at least two of the stories are darker - one of my favorites was about a woman who is fascinated by the suicide of a model in Delhi, haunted as she is by memories of her own father's suicide. Another is a tale of childhood - and hidden in it is the perversity of a maid. I read them all, and loved them all.

It was interesting to read later that Lavanya Sankaran's book was in a bidding war with as many as 6 publishers vying for it. I can understand why. She is currently supposed to be working on her novel. I, for one, can't wait to see if the undoubted talent in these short stories will emerge fuller in a novel.

Verdict: Brilliant debut.


Rating : 3.5/5