Thoughts on “Shantaram”
A timeless package of flaming emotions
No one needs to be reminded that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Well, can we say the same about the book title? Shantaram is one such book that exposes the need to amend the famous quote: “Don’t judge a book by its cover/title”.
I low-key expected a monk to preach about one’s path to peace and eternal bliss by letting go of relations, and materialistic desires with a vapid narration. However, I was stumped to realise that the book is not close to what I anticipated. Instead, it excited me through the extremes on the spectrum of human emotions like love, hope, suffering, anger, regret, and human entities like life, good, evil, and the truth.
Here’s the hook
The author, Gregory David Roberts, is an Australian prison escapee, finds refuge in the Cobala slum of Mumbai, India, then gets recruited to produce fake passports, before heading for the Afghanistan war in support of the Mujahideen against the Soviets. Geeee!!
To much of readers’ amusement, though some parts are evidently exaggerated, most of the book is based on reality. Thus it qualifies as a semi-fiction novel.
Vantage Point View
With almost 1000 pages, it is fair to put Shantaram into the basket of winter break novels. For most readers, it is a vex. For all that, there aren’t many books with the last page pricking you to ache for more. But Shantaram does.
Roberts reaches Mumbai with a fake passport and renames himself as Lindsay, or how everyone starts calling him, Lin. Within a year, Lin’s mentality is coloured with the spirit of India. He understands and celebrates the attributes of Indians which sets them apart from the world. All while speaking of experiences that can’t be cultivated elsewhere, he was never blind to the darkness that the country (especially Mumbai) beholds.
Being interested in everything and committed to nothing only made it harder for him. In constant fear of being exposed and losing the fruits of his new life, he often crumbles to the nightmares from his past and his forbidden family in Australia.
Albeit a few fictionalised characters and situations, ironically, the novel is an ocean of honesty. Lin is a man who would rather gobble the red pill and get sucked into the earth than enjoy the ignorance that a blue pill yields. He never shies away from telling us the truths that crunch his own heart. The narration is lead with a fair blend of modesty and vulnerability which makes Shantaram special.
For a big chunk of the story, it is still an unsolved stumper as to which parts of it are real. Can you tell?
Literature
I don’t think I’ll ever be capable of spelling out my awe for the literature in this novel. While the author’s journey itself has a bank of thick ground punches to it, the woven web of words amplifies it to be more striking.
Be it when the author is fleeing from a prison in Australia, or when combating the cold turkey in India, or when slashing a horse to ease its death in Afghanistan, you are subjected to sense the thump of his heart, dullness of his nerves, and smell of the gore. Roberts’ ability to seize the reader into the beat is credibly a gold-plated possession under his belt.
Pace and progression, as a pair, fittingly complement the oozing prose and poetry. Needless to mention that the immersive writing and play of words exhibit an insane level of brilliance throughout, often touching the sweet spots of brevity.
Characterization
Shantaram is not about Lin, neither about Bombay nor about freedom. Though each of the above is a fundamental part, the heart of it lies in the tangled network of characters. The stories, complications, and insights that each person brings to the table keep altering Lin’s perspective. The core of each character and their trademark mannerisms are well preserved till the end.
My only complaint is that each character (even the just-passing-by ones) is introduced with details of minuscule physical features. It happened so that, a few times, it pulled me out of the narration and reminded me this can’t be all completely true. However, If you are a sucker for details, you’re not going to mind it.
Scene Setting
Prime scene-setting is an integral part of the recipe for capturing the vibe of situations. This may largely involve descriptions of how a place looks, sounds, and smells to boost the feel of filling the shoes of a character.
Roberts nails this game several times in the novel. He sets the tone of the situation even before a conversation/action takes place. This helps in advancing the gravity of circumstances and also contributes to the development of character graphs. Everything is beautiful, however, the occasional dump of excessive details (also seen in character introductions) applies to the scene-setting aspect of this novel as well.
Philosophy
Shantaram serves as an enormous reserve of philosophy that can promptly be applied to our own lives. Not just philosophy for nature, it also extends to the search of modelling highly debated concepts like love, desire, god, suffering, and courage.
Roberts delivers his reflections and wits to us through two pivotal characters Karla and Abdel Khader Khan. You will come across “Karla once said…” in every other page preaching about love and how the true essence of it is being abused.
Lin is a troubled man with recurring moral conflicts. Every other interaction with Abdel Khader Khan incites a consumable intuition about god and religion. I can’t help but appreciate how well the true concept of good and evil was handled in one of the preachings from the great Khan. Of course, I will spare the details to no let out any spoilers.
All in all, it is a masterpiece and I wouldn’t wonder why Roberts took 13 years to produce this novel. With the elements of love, adventure, redemption, and thrill, this novel is a treasure to run after for A-list actors (Jhonny Depp acquired the rights to produce it. See this regarding the film adaption).
It’s an amazing novel and I wouldn’t mind nagging anyone even with a remote interest in novels, philosophy, or India to read it.
