Of students and warrior-poets. Review on Red Earth and Pouring Rain - Vikram Chandra

Finally a modern Indian author who understands what good (possibly great) fiction is all about- stories. And if it's stories you're after then Vikram Chandra has copious amounts to offer in his first book- Red earth and pouring rain.

Taking its name from a 4th Century Tamil poem, Chandra's novel is a rollercoaster ride through drama and comedy and magic both in the past and present. Some of the contrasts couldn't be more glaring and yet they are tied together by a small yet wonderfully relevant aspect- stories. As in Ovid's Metamorphoses where the single common element is change, the stories that each character conveys are the threads that bind each page together.

The plot spans across space and time from early colonial India to modern America with our main protagonists being Sanjay, a warrior-poet reincarnated as a monkey and Abhay, a young student from America. And it is their stories that we encounter at every turn, interwoven with rambling perfection. While Sanjay recounts his own view of history from around 1750-1900 during the fall of the Mughal Empire to the establishment of the British as colonizers (We come across fascinating Indian and colonial figures such as Benoit de Boigne, Begum Sumroo and James Skinner to name but a few), Abhay gives his own view of life as a culture-clashed and confused college lad in late 20th Century America.

The end product is almost epic in scope where the Gods (Yama and Hanuman in particular) play pivotal roles and the influence of the British Raj materialises even in modern day America. The brashness of modern America itself provides a telling counterpoint to the richness of the Indian past where Abhay's youthful experiences are directly in contrast to Sanjay's own youth. The mood encompasses romance, war, magic, destruction, love and betrayal with varying degrees of indulgence and the characters themselves are very warm, vibrant and accessible. In fact, being in a similar position to Abhay, having been educated abroad, some of the insecurities he feels are so tangible and real it's unnerving. Sanjay though is a more complex persona and his metamorphosis from poet to warrior is an unrelenting emotional journey strewn and stricken with sacrifices galore. His confrontations are both magical and very real and fantastically well portrayed.

Chandra's prose is artistically crafted and employs many literary techniques such as magical realism and metafiction. The literary symbols he uses are profound and come sans the added baggage of cliché. What makes the book so good though is the final cohesion of all the stories we encounter. Although it is not unexpected, the masterful way in which he crafts the climax is brutal to the senses and leaves them confused but at the same time exhilarated.

All in all Red earth and pouring rain is an engaging and intellectual book that philosophizes and entertains and does so with a refinement and panache that's rarely evident today. A MUST READ!