Arun Mirchandani's 148 page novel, You Are Not Alone, is his first. I met this 28 year old author in the parents' meet organized by Gay Bombay a couple of weeks ago. He seemed both nervous and thrilled discussing his book. The thrill of being a first time writer coupled with the fear of being rejected by his readers was keeping Arun on edge. "Please read my novel!" was Arun's timid request.
A few days later I managed to get my hands on the novel and sat on my "lazee boy" reading it. It was the perfect day to read a novel the pitter patter of rain drops on my window sill and an impatient pair of sparrows flitting in and out of my bedroom. The nation wide halt called by political parties ensured that I was incarcerated in my house. Arun's tale begins with the protagonist, Sanjay Sanghavi, dying of a heart attack at 75. In the last moments of his life, Sanjay reflects on times gone by. And thus begins a tale in flashback. Sanjay's character, aged four, is lovingly nurtured by the author. We are introduced to his older brother, Rajiv, and his parents. Sanjay goes through the trauma of being interviewed by the principal of Beverly American High School at Singapore. We are shown Sanjay's first conflict with the straight world when he rebels against his mother's wishes and gets her to purchase a women's "ghagra choli" for him. Children can be very cruel. Sanjay is subjected to years of humiliating bullying at school because of his weight and consequently develops a low self esteem. Like most children do, he keeps the torture to himself. Misery tends to drive a child further into its shell. It has a spiralling effect. It is sobering to note that many of us have been through such trauma and unless an adult intervenes it can leave lasting scars on a young child. Sanjay's redemption comes in the form of a teacher who teaches him not only the art of public speaking with confidence but self respect. And for this he will be eternally grateful to the teacher. After his teenhood Sanjay joins TISS for postgraduate studies in HR. He makes friends of the opposite sex and has the courage to come out to them. He is pleasantly surprised to learn that sexual orientation is of no consequence to his friends. Sanjay gets his first taste of heart break and sex and comes out as a stronger human being. At 28 Sanjay meets Ritwik Kala and they fall in love. Thus begins a long and loving relationship which is fated to have a tragic end. As I read Arun's novel I couldn't help but fall in love with Sanjay and share his pleasures and pains. I wished for a Ritwik in my life and all the pleasures and pains of a relationship. As a reader I could identify with Sanjay's character. At places the story does sag a bit, but it picks up again after the second half. The part about the maltreatment of an HIV infected gay man is gruesome. All in all a delightfully readable yarn. I recommend it and give it four stars out of five. One wishes that the author, Arun, would write his next soon. Arun Mirchandani will have his first reading of his novel on Sunday, July 11, 2010 at 6 pm at Azad Bazar, 16/33rd road, Opposite Mini Punjab, same lane as KFC, Bandra (West), Mumbai. Regards, Deep http://gaynotes.blogspot.com/
