Rustom And The last Storyteller Of Almora
Author : Gaurav Parab
Publisher : Hachette, Rs399
The ethos of this novel is cinematic, the language is also simple and it works as a concrete ground for an interrogation of ‘beliefs' to a large extent, making it pertinent to deconstruct some pre-set ideas, writes MEHA PANDE
When a man puts a gun to his head to kill himself it only takes a fraction of a second or perhaps a little more to end his life. A lot is determined by what appears to be just some grief-striken or passion-ridden last seconds before death. Indispensable decisions are made and answers to innumerable questions are sought. Rustom Iraqiwalla, popularly known as Rusty, is a man caught in the moment of making such a transit. With a gun to his head and a plan in mind, he is all set to pull off the trigger. It is in the moment located between life and death, between the ‘bullet and his skin’ — quite an elongated one for Rusty — that Gaurav Parab’s entire plot is set.
Rustom’s character — ‘a sum of contradictions’, a ‘man-child’ as he is repetitively called, is crafted with lucidity by Parab. The novel opens with Rusty on the move and multiple questions begin to arise out of every move he makes. When he boards a train heading somewhere, it is evident that Rusty is on a mission of some kind. like a schizophrenic he is caught between bouts of forgetfulness and a somewhat dodgy remembrance of all things left behind. The mention of a certain letter at the onset lends to the novel its first question and to the readers their first mystery to unravel. Parab furthers the mysteriousness of the plot by dropping names of other related characters like David, Feroze, Fali and Mr Reddy. From the first part of this tripartite novel the readers gauge that Rusty is a man drinking alone in a hotel room, intending to kill himself for his family as he ponders over what he has and what he will leave behind.
Money is at the root of this sacrifice. Rusty believes money will not only rescue him from his debts in the present but also protect his family in the future from the disaster of his own making. With Rustom’s movement the next two sections of Parab’s book take its readers to the town of Begalpur and the villages of Uttarakhand eventually returning to the familiar topography of Nariman Point in Mumbai. To have chanced upon one last journey just when he was about to pull the trigger proves to be a boon to Rusty. It takes him to the spiritual pathways of Gaon, a village in Uttarakhand where resides the hundred year old mystic ‘Kahani Baba’. With the induction of Kahani Baba, Parab adds a distinct and rather innovative dimension to his plot. Kahani Baba does not merely state his visions to the devotees but the figure of an unusual story-telling godman by itself brings forth some vital philosophical and literary observations as the plot progresses. It raises pertinent questions on belief, priesthood, godmen, modern generation and their lifestyle simultaneously assessing the nature and meaning of a story/kahani. With the reiteration of ‘kahani banni chahiye’, Kahani Baba enunciates how the life of every man must be a story worthy of being told. While the infusion of this character facilitates the author to tell stories which attribute complexity to the plot, it also compels the readers to observe and interpret these cryptic tales told via the godman in the quest to unravel some secrets of the novel.
Parab’s novel has a primary plot centred on Rusty’s condition and multiple subplots emerge out of it with stories incorporated within each. It is geographically and culturally diverse, taking us back and forth in time through its tales which vary from the time of swayamvars in ancient India to the modern metropolitan tales of love and loss. The tales of Kahani Baba in the second half are a key to the mystery of the primary plot and complement it rather well. There are layers to Parab’s characters and the progression of their private lives. It is through tales within their stories or tales about them that Parab brings them to life. Alternating between chapters on the findings of Rusty’s wife Jennifer, the pursuit of David to find Rusty and Baba’s tales which make Rustom turn towards himself rethinking God and faith, the novel builds a conflict which is resolved towards the end through a climactic encounter in the racecourse.
The resolution attained after a rather melodramatic turns of events is amicable and culminates in the restoration of faith of each of the characters. Rusty begins to believe in God as ‘the ultimate metaphor’, Jennifer places her trust again in her husband and even David, the conventional goonda/antagonist, softens towards Rusty for bringing him to the hospital. Such multiplicity, however, could make the novel a slightly tedious read for impatient readers by the time they reach the point of culmination towards the end of the novel.
The ethos of the work is cinematic and the readers, at least towards the beginning, will feel like they are witnessing a man’s life, looking at it from the outside. The book would undoubtedly make for a good film script. The language is simple which makes it a stress-free read. Parab’s attempt to converge and redefine certain cultural beliefs is praiseworthy. On some occasions the readers might find it difficult to reconcile to certain seemingly contradictory ideas, like those of a hundred year old spiritual guru-like figure frequently consuming cans of beer but instances like these, implanted in the language and the characterisation, make the novel pertinent in deconstructing numerous pre-set ideas. It is a concrete ground for interrogation of ‘beliefs’ at multiple levels attempting to work towards a synthesis of the many contradictions it creates through its characters.
The reviewer is a lecturer of English in Delhi University and a PhD research scholar in JNU