‘Manjhi’s Mayhem’ book review: Look back in anger

Express News Service

A good story needs a captivating plot and thought-provoking characters woven together in engaging prose. A dose of social commentary lends it relatability. Manjhi’s Mayhem has all that and more. When Sewaram Manjhi, a Dalit migrant in Mumbai, finds it difficult to get a job with his name, he changes his identity and turns a Jat from Haryana’s Jhajjar. Despite landing a job as a security guard at a posh café, a rage continues to simmer within him. Unlike the popular imagination of Dalit characters, here he is painted as a muscular anti-hero with a hunger for upward mobility, who will stop at nothing to change his destiny in a country where birth determines fate.

He meets Santosh, a pretty migrant girl from Uttar Pradesh, who besotted him from the first meeting, setting in motion the titular mayhem, soon transforming the story into a spellbinding noir thriller that keeps the reader hooked till the very end. The author, Tanuj Solanki, ensures the social relevance of the book is not lost in the thrill, and peppers the narrative with subtle yet imperative commentary, be it on the ongoing construction of the Shiv Smarak, or the problems of manual scavenging. He never shies away from saying what he wants. For instance, how Santosh, a Brahmin woman, responds to Sewaram when he reveals his Dalit identity.

Solanki’s brilliance lies in the awareness of his craft. Despite writing a thriller, he successfully avoids making the language or the plot convoluted. Although the novel is written in English, the author makes it clear that it is the story of those who, in all likelihood, are far removed from the language. Solanki opens with the sentence, “none of this happened in English. It couldn’t have. It all happened in a mix of Hindi and Marathi…”, and that is why, perhaps, he has retained words such as manhoos and bhadwa to hold on to the essence of the people the tale truly belongs to.

As a migrant in Mumbai himself, Solanki visibly draws heavily from his own experiences in the ‘city of dreams’, but never does he become a Mumbaikar. He looks at it from an outsider’s perspective who, over time, has come to fall in love with it.

Where the writer falters is his homogenisation of the Dalit community. Manjhi is a surname associated with the Musahar community known for their traditional occupation of rat-catching. The story, however, makes no mention of that, not even when Sewaram remembers his father.

All Dalits are not manual scavengers and it is in this misplaced portrayal that the book appears superficial.
Nevertheless, Manjhi’s Mayhem has wonderful visual appeal–– each scene and dialogue is rich enough to evoke vivid imagery. Also, Solanki’s first-person narrative allows him to address issues of class and caste in a metropolitan city, making this novel an important work of contemporary fiction.

Manjhi’s Mayhem 

By: Tanuj Solanki

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 216

Price: Rs 399

<br /> A good story needs a captivating plot and thought-provoking characters woven together in engaging prose. A dose of social commentary lends it relatability. Manjhi’s Mayhem has all that and more. When Sewaram Manjhi, a Dalit migrant in Mumbai, finds it difficult to get a job with his name, he changes his identity and turns a Jat from Haryana’s Jhajjar. Despite landing a job as a security guard at a posh café, a rage continues to simmer within him. Unlike the popular imagination of Dalit characters, here he is painted as a muscular anti-hero with a hunger for upward mobility, who will stop at nothing to change his destiny in a country where birth determines fate.</p> <p>He meets Santosh, a pretty migrant girl from Uttar Pradesh, who besotted him from the first meeting, setting in motion the titular mayhem, soon transforming the story into a spellbinding noir thriller that keeps the reader hooked till the very end. The author, Tanuj Solanki, ensures the social relevance of the book is not lost in the thrill, and peppers the narrative with subtle yet imperative commentary, be it on the ongoing construction of the Shiv Smarak, or the problems of manual scavenging. He never shies away from saying what he wants. For instance, how Santosh, a Brahmin woman, responds to Sewaram when he reveals his Dalit identity.</p> <p>Solanki’s brilliance lies in the awareness of his craft. Despite writing a thriller, he successfully avoids making the language or the plot convoluted. Although the novel is written in English, the author makes it clear that it is the story of those who, in all likelihood, are far removed from the language. Solanki opens with the sentence, “none of this happened in English. It couldn’t have. It all happened in a mix of Hindi and Marathi…”, and that is why, perhaps, he has retained words such as manhoos and bhadwa to hold on to the essence of the people the tale truly belongs to.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>As a migrant in Mumbai himself, Solanki visibly draws heavily from his own experiences in the ‘city of dreams’, but never does he become a Mumbaikar. He looks at it from an outsider’s perspective who, over time, has come to fall in love with it.</p> <p>Where the writer falters is his homogenisation of the Dalit community. Manjhi is a surname associated with the Musahar community known for their traditional occupation of rat-catching. The story, however, makes no mention of that, not even when Sewaram remembers his father.</p> <p>All Dalits are not manual scavengers and it is in this misplaced portrayal that the book appears superficial.<br /> Nevertheless, Manjhi’s Mayhem has wonderful visual appeal–– each scene and dialogue is rich enough to evoke vivid imagery. Also, Solanki’s first-person narrative allows him to address issues of class and caste in a metropolitan city, making this novel an important work of contemporary fiction.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Manjhi’s Mayhem </p> <p>By: Tanuj Solanki</p> <p>Publisher: Penguin</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.81 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.81 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Pages: 216</p> <p>Price: Rs 399<br />