Courtesy, The Bindhu Srividya has produced one of the finest fictional critiques of caste society. S. ANAND
NO ONIONS NOR GARLIC by Srividya Natarajan Penguin Pages: 336; Rs 295 In which debutant Srividya Natarajan pays her tribute to Shakespeare by arranging a cast of characters of various castes, sexualities and shapes; which is set in the English Department of Chennai University where professors invite a dead Foucault to a conference; where atrocities are committed on Brahmins (the up-trodden who suffer trodditude) by acts such as the pedestalisation of a bronze Ambedkar reading Annihilation of Caste; in which Students for Democracy are pitted against TamBrahmAss whose members have curd rice in their dental cavities and lemon/mango pickle under their fingernails; in which everyone is constantly referring to reportage in The Bindhu, plugging into e-prarthana.com for spiritual solace, or seeking post-menopausal bliss in the groping hands of triple-blessed swamis prefixed with Sri Sri Sri; in which Shakespeare's injunction to actors 'no onions nor garlic', interpreted via Manu, becomes a Tam-Brahm's way of life. The reader, if she enjoys comedy and satire, and can stomach caricatures of Tam-Brahms and their lifestyle, can laugh as loudly as some characters in this novel fart. The way the novel wears its comic heart on its sleeve is deceptive; Srividya has produced one of the finest fictional critiques of caste society. -- Subscribe to ZESTCaste by sending a BLANK email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTCaste/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
