A review by somireads
Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag

5.0

"it's true what they say- it's not we who control money, it's the money that controls us. when there's only a little , it behaves meekly; when it grows , it becomes brash and has it's way with us."

The above line pretty much sums up what the author is trying to convey through this story.
It is essentially a story about a family who overnight make a transition from a lower class to a significantly higher class.

The thing that propelled me to give it a full 5/5 rating is its super sharp relatable content.
There's a segment where the narrator talks about how they used to make purchases on a need basis back when they had a tight budget. But the sudden influx of money changed their shopping habits.
"Our relationship with the things we accumulated around us became casual ; we began treating them carelessly."

Also, that legendary "ANT Episode " is so relatable. I am sure a majority of Indian family has lived through something similar.

I am quite embarrassed to admit but the wife and in-laws drama was accurate to the tee... LOL..!!

It is a short novel and it took me a few hours to finish it.
A shout- out to srinath perur who masterfully translated this masterpiece.

However not gonna lie but that open ended climax threw me off a bit . i spent a couple hours on google to read all the theories behind that vague ending . honestly still trying to guess.

Highly recommended . i can definitely see it being translated into a fantastic movie.