Simple & Interesting – a must read. Review on One Hundred Shades of White - Preethi Nair

Preethi Nair shot to fame with her debut novel ‘Gypsy Masala’. Though I was impressed with her style of writing – contemporary yet Indian, the book failed to impress me. Last couple of months had me buried deeply in classics ( I love reading and re-reading classics – (read) Oscar Wilde, O Henry, Guy De Mapussant…) and I was itching to read something different – and this book caught my eye while I was browsing in a book shop. I have never been a great fan of Indian authors and this genre particularly never caught my fancy… But, I decided to tread the “road less traveled” :)

The story is very common place and set in a very typical, traditional Kerala home. Raul Kathi : scion of a rich kerala family is a good looking, ambitious, well-educated and arrogant man who believes that men rule the world. He is a dynamic business man with business interests spread across the world. He is engaged to be married to a cultured, educated girl, when he meets Nalini. Nalini: is a daughter of a broken home. Her mother and father separate when she is an infant and has been brought up by her mother, who is affectionately called Ammamma in this story. Hailing from a typical Kerala village, Nalini is refreshingly good looking with lovely lusturous hair, doe-eyed and fair skinned. She is not educated and does not understand the ways of the world. Her mother is a village cook who is famous across villages for her gastronomical abilities. Nalini assists her mother in cooking for village functions and festivities. They live under the shadow of the Kathi family, where both mother and daughter cook for the family Nalini is smitten by Raul’s charms and consents to marry him. Fearing opposition from the family, Raul and Nalini elope from the village and get married Raul is an overbearing man who considers his wife to be nothing but a child-bearing bimbette, who should keep a good home, cook and be contented. Nalini starts missing Raul and the sweetness in their relationship. Since she knows nothing better, she immerses herself in cooking and forgetting sorrows. Life moves on – they move to Mumbai, Raul becomes successful and travels frequently abroad. He spends very little time with the children – Satchin and Maya. Satchin: is the elder son. Maya : is the independent, “know my mind” younger offspring of Raul and Nalini. She is very close and attached to her grand mother, Ammamma. The family is invited to join Raul in London for a year. The story takes a complete turn of events in London, bringing to light the relationships between Nalini,Maya and Satchin. It also shows the grittier side to Nalini as she decides to do something she has never dreamt in her life… The story also portrays the power of food in building and developing relationships – this is one correlation which never occurred to me in the wildest of my dreams.

There are several references to Indian cooking, which adds a delightful twang to the otherwise mundane story. The story is fast paced, easy and not stressful on the senses. It makes good light reading especially when you are bored, waiting for a delayed flight (that’s when I completed this book) or taking a boring bus/train journey. This book has been selected by BBC to be made into a television series.

Way to go!!