Author: Anjum Hasan
Publisher: Penguin Books
Pages: 290
There are no miracles in real life. It is in fact a lesson, or perhaps a gentle reminder that we dream, aspire, dare, even fail, and then simply go back to doing what we do best - carry on with a tad of lunacy in our heads. Anjum Hasan's Lunatic in my Head loosens those complex knots of life, between what we want, what we can, and what really happens.
Three characters, strangers to each other, yet conjoined by a common string bring to lifeShillong, the city in which the novel is based. Rain drenched streets, dreamy youth smokingjoints, their enigmatic fascination with rock music, literature, the authoritative Khasis and their antagonism against Dkhars (non-Khasis), snacking on peppered boiled potatoes soaked in tamarind water, and the wanting to break-free attitude, all of it and more is part of a picturesque narration that makes the reader fall in love with Shillong. Having grown up and lived most of her life there, Anjum Hasan does a brilliant job in grasping the laid-back nerve of the city, something that people over the years have associated Shillong with.
Firdaus, Aman and Sophie
Firdaus Ansari teaches English literature at the university. Saddled with a thesis on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and a boyfriend with who she has no future, she lives a static existence. Her dream to move out of Shillong shattered with her parents' death many years ago. Despite the regret in her heart, Firdaus feels strangely connected to Shillong, and her longing for the city where she has lived all her life is inexplicable.
Aman Moondy's fascination with Pink Floyd is caught in a conflict with a more realistic decision of clearing the Civil Services exam. Not to mention, his infatuation with the lovely Concordella who is preoccupied with the Church and its sermons, than him. Aman's failed attempts to revive the culture of music and art in the city by organising a 'Happening', eventually compels him to accept a plain and lacklustre future.
And eight-year-old Sophie Das prefers to slip into her world of imagination whenever she can. She lies at the drop of a hat, to others and to herself, making up stories in a tick. With the tension brewing at home between her mother who's expecting a second child and her uptight father who has given up his job as a professor, little Sophie likes to recoil from the unexciting reality and enter the mysterious world of Elsa and Jason, the lonely landlady and her son.
A common thread that binds the protagonists is that all three of them, Firdaus, Aman and Sophie, are Dkhars. The word is used to describe anyone who is a non-Khasi and is condescending by all means. Several instances in the book are evocative of this discrimination. Sophie is scoffed at by Khasi girls of her age because the waitress refuses to serve her tea and snacks at the wedding. Aman, consciously aware of his outsider status, remains silent when the bully, Max abuses the boiled-potato seller. And Firdaus feels no less than an alien when Ibomcha, her boyfriend talks about taking her to Manipur to meet his mother. Yet, they are the ones who love Shillong for what it is.
Chapters that define moods
The titles of the chapters are reflective of the characters' temperaments and are aptly named Wonder, Anger, Love, Sadness, Courage, Fear and so on. Interestingly, the circumstances that Firdaus, Aman and Sophie find themselves to be in are similar. In Disgust, Firdaus gets molested by her supervisor, Thakur. In the same chapter, Aman realises he has absolutely no Pink Floyd connection with the girl of his dreams, Concordella, and she is in fact in awe of Banshan, the boastful preacher. And Sophie gets pulled into a frivolous scene because of Jason who not only forces her to drink beer but also leaves her stranded in the middle of no where.
For anyone who has lived in Shillong, the book is pleasantly reminiscent of the imagery that Anjum has managed to capture in her description of the city. And for those who haven't, the book makes for a perfect monsoon read along with a hot cup of coffee.