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A review by stephy_simon
Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag
5.0
Ghachar Gochar is the tale of the journey of a middle-class Indian family to prosperity. This line cannot be considered as a complete description of the tale, but I am going with that because the story itself starts by misguiding the readers.
We see the narrator in a cafe-cum- bar- cum- restaurant in the first chapter, sitting there thinking about his past relationship. The waiter of the cafe, Vincent, is said to have a clear idea about the narrator's life. The first chapters create an idea about the tale in the minds of the readers but that will soon be undermined.
Sitting in the coffee house, the narrator tells us about his life. He was born to a middle-class Indian family where his father as the only earning member and led an ordinary life with fundamental values. The family's life changed when his uncle's business made them rich overnight. The story takes a turn from there and discusses how their life changed and how their relations around them with everything become casual. The author conveys a strong message " it's not we who control money, its money who controls us".
Many parts of the book are wholly relatable to my own life, as I belong to a middle-class family.
"Even when its run out it seems you can turn the cylinder upside down and get a little more."- This extract is about using a gas cylinder to its full capacity. There are many such hilarious indications in the book that gives an insight into the lives of middle-class Indians.
The first thing that I had found attractive about the book is the title itself. "Ghachar Gochar" is a phrase developed by the narrator's wife and it simply denotes something tangled beyond repair. The narrator's life itself is Ghachar Gochar.
This novel or may I call it, the novella is under 200 pages and is 200 % worth the time one spends reading it. This tale reflects how money changes one's life. Oh! Yes the best part is the end.
My rating
We see the narrator in a cafe-cum- bar- cum- restaurant in the first chapter, sitting there thinking about his past relationship. The waiter of the cafe, Vincent, is said to have a clear idea about the narrator's life. The first chapters create an idea about the tale in the minds of the readers but that will soon be undermined.
Sitting in the coffee house, the narrator tells us about his life. He was born to a middle-class Indian family where his father as the only earning member and led an ordinary life with fundamental values. The family's life changed when his uncle's business made them rich overnight. The story takes a turn from there and discusses how their life changed and how their relations around them with everything become casual. The author conveys a strong message " it's not we who control money, its money who controls us".
Many parts of the book are wholly relatable to my own life, as I belong to a middle-class family.
"Even when its run out it seems you can turn the cylinder upside down and get a little more."- This extract is about using a gas cylinder to its full capacity. There are many such hilarious indications in the book that gives an insight into the lives of middle-class Indians.
The first thing that I had found attractive about the book is the title itself. "Ghachar Gochar" is a phrase developed by the narrator's wife and it simply denotes something tangled beyond repair. The narrator's life itself is Ghachar Gochar.
This novel or may I call it, the novella is under 200 pages and is 200 % worth the time one spends reading it. This tale reflects how money changes one's life. Oh! Yes the best part is the end.
My rating