'The Curse of Yesterday' (Second Edition), is a novel from author Anumita Sharma, published by Panther House Publication. It is the story of Yamini, a woman raised by her grandmother, and several other characters around her. A brilliant novel set around topics of women's struggle, coming of age, sociology, politics and history of the time, as well as soulfully developed characters.
A few highlights of the book are as mentioned below:
1. Writing Style:
The author's writing style is a treat for readers who look for pure joys of reading. You need to read every sentence, every paragraph, and relish the tidbits and appreciate all the nuances, in order to love the writing. Checkout few excerpts at the end of this piece.
2. Parallel Stories:
The novel runs at least three parallel stories all through its length and it keeps the readers away from fatigue, and also provides variety. Story of Yamini is the most predominantly described one and she is the 'hero' of the story; but at the same time the novel contains the story of 'Chulha', another strong character but in a very different setup.
3. Case Against Caste Based Reservation Politics:
The novel is set against the backdrop of anti-reservation agitations of the early 1990s. Many brilliant youths sacrificed their life for the cause of "equality of opportunity", and scores of others suffered huge setbacks and struggles to come to terms with the injustice done to them just because of their castes by birth. No one chooses to be born in a particular caste, and hence must not be blamed for it and government should never discriminate between people on the basis of castes. But the harsh reality is that the discriminatory and unjust system of caste-based reservation is only growing stronger with time, thanks to the importance of "numbers" in the democratic system.
4. Women Centric Story:
Once again, the author has come up with a strong story around female characters. But at the same time, she has not done injustice against male characters too.
5. Unique Sense of Humor
The author displays a unique sense of humor all through the book. She is "brutally honest" and still manages to not sound offensive, thanks to her unique manner of putting down words with a sense of humor. There are no specially crafted comic pages or episodes, but the humor is everywhere - we just have to open any page and read out any paragraph. Here, I am choosing a few random sentences from random pages, just for example:
***
"By her side was the uncomfortable young man, his receding hairline had shifted on his upper lip, for his moustaches grew densely. He was round like the sister-in-law, only darker and rounder; and his face reflected the color of her sari, it was flushed fuchsia." (Page-53)
Have you seen anyone comparing the color of a man with color of a sari? Also, "his receding hairline had shifted on his upper lip" was so hilarious.
***
"She could anticipate the taste of the final product after sampling its stuffing. She would have preferred to stay back and taste another spoonful on the pretext of gauging the correct consistency of salt and spices." (Page-59).
Now, everyone can relate to this sporty act of enjoying tasty food on the pretext of "tasting" it!
***
"Sharda had displayed a colorful photograph of her Guruji, who was barely a toddler. Chulha could not understand how a mite of a child taught such grownup things." (Page-18)
A toddler as a Guruji was hilarious idea.
***
"Tiwaran pulled me out from hair and called me such dirty names! She would have hit me! But she said I was a ... and what not and that enraged me. I answered back that instead of calling me names, why don't you abuse those boys? She was quieted by my sudden temper and I took advantage of her confusion and ran away." (Page-150)
It was so hilarious for her to "take advantage of confusion and run away"!
6. Strong Buildup and Climax at the End:
The novel displays a wonderful buildup of storyline, leading characters, events, and ends of in a climax which is very effective. There is devastating 'tragedy' but still a hope; and readers are not left crushed under shock and trauma as it happens in many stories. It is possible only because of brilliantly balanced thought process displayed by the author.
Excerpts:
While reading a good book, we are transported to a different place. But in below portion on page-13, it feels like we are also being made ready to eat the meal being prepared. There is so much heart and soul in one paragraph.
Below portion shows brilliant display of imagination and creative writing. Just look at last sentences of each para. The statement, "as though, if he looked away, the plate might vanish", is so apt. Then, the word "querulous" is mentioned which I across first time and it reminds me that there is always so much to learn.
The description is also so much 'cinematic'!
- Rahul
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