Let It Be

by R. Sundaram

As the country heads for an epochal General Election, deep questions are being raised of the idea of India itself and for the first time, the shibboleths of the past 60 years are being re-examined critically. Irrespective of creed, caste or region – ‘Bijli-sadak-paani’ (electricity, roads, and water) has been the main demand of voters - a cry for the desperately needed infrastructure which is glaring by its non-existence. The absence of public infrastructure is a telling commentary on the governance provided by the State to date.
This story is about a dysfunctional State which has delusions of nuking a neighbor while in reality it is unable to even clear the garbage in the streets!
It examines through an uncommon Common Man’s experiences the inconsistencies at three levels: family, small town and national. At the first level, the story looks critically at middle class aspirations in terms of education, work and the hypocrisy of the matrimonial system. In the second stage, the story turns political using the metaphor of electricity (bijli) which is in critically short supply and the vested interests who ensure the shortages continue. It describes the protagonist’s interactions with the political boss of his small town who through nefarious means accumulates astonishing wealth in a short period of time. There is a description of an insensitive judicial system where no matter is expected to reach a logical conclusion and the attempt to seek redress is itself, a punishment! The electoral process is characterized, based on narrow identities and to the exclusion of competing groups. Finally, it gives a glimpse of corruption at the national level.
How will the protagonist, Swami react to the challenges of living in India today?

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 28, 2013

Reviews

[Aparna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let it be by R Sundaram is an interesting satire on the political situation in India. This is the story of a man called Swami who resides in a small town called Wandiwash in South India. The story starts with Swami being elected as an independent candidate from Wandiwash. Swami is summoned by the prime minister as he is the only candidate who is not ready to sell his vote of confidence to any political party even for a couple of Crores. From here, we are taken back to the life story of Swami,starting from his education, his short career in the corporate world, his entrepreneurship in Truth Engineering and various other experiences in his political and engineering career. The other main characters in this book are Swami's wife Lakshmi who is a carnatic singer and his childhood friend Sampath.

The book starts of exceptionally well. One can identify so many situations in Swami's life which we would have also encountered in our day to day activities. Swami comes across as a man of high character. The author not only mocks at the political situation in India, but mocks at the social and state of legal system in India as well. The matrimonial system , devdasis, consultation of horoscopes before marriage and delay in judgement of pending cases are among some of the many issues the author tries to bring about in his story.

I particularly enjoyed the part of the book which deals with Swami and his experiences at Truth Engineering. However, I feel the book is in need of serious crisp editing. It took me about a week to complete this book . The book at times gets monotonous with the issue of corruption resurfacing in every aspect of Swami's life and also makes you feel at times as if there is absolutely no good which exists in the political and legal situation in India - which I strongly disagree upon.

With a little bit of more editing I would have given this book another additional star. However, am going for 3 stars . Let it be is still makes for an interesting read for people who enjoy satires.

[Raja Subramanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Let it be" is a wonderful read . I loved it. It evokes various emotions in you as you literally live the life of Swami of Wandiwash through his narration. You go through a roller coaster ride that Swami experiences through school, work, marriage, entrepreneurship, to being a cabinet minister. Throughout his journey he enjoys the unwavering support of his childhood friend Sampath and his wife Lakshmi. Unconsciously your mind checks out the various characters in the story and maps them to real people in your own life. You vividly experience Swami’s simple joys, aspirations, challenges, successes, failures, hopes, despair, anger, prejudices, and a whole range of other human emotions.

Sundaram, through Swami, narrates experiences of a with various sections of the Indian society with intense candor. He brings out the rot in various sections of the society as the educated middle class abdicates its role in politics and governance (in favor of stability and material well-being), thereby making way for lumpen elements to fill the vacuum. At not point in the narration does one feel that things have been grossly exaggerated for dramatic effect. I think that all Indians have experienced some aspects of corruption, inefficiency, greed or apathy in the educational system, the various organs of the government, or even the judiciary.

Usually I read my books reasonably fast. But I took 4 days to finish this book since I was so compelled to go over certain paragraphs a few times to see India through the eyes of Swami. I intend reading the book again, soon, for there may be many gems that I might have missed!

I guess that there is the spirit of Swami in each one of us. Be conscious of this spirit as you read this book. You would enjoy this immensely. You will see despair in a society that appears to degenerate fast. You will also see hope! Strongly recommended! Buy this and read it. Gift this book to your friend.

[Diwakar Grandhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It starts with the protagonist's life in his 20's and covers his life till his 60's (or so). It explains the various challenges he faced during his entire life and it definitely strikes a chord with a middle class Indian. It explains the various issues we face in the Independent India and how times have been changing. The author covers the aspects of politics, judiciary system, bureaucracy present in the Indian system and some of them (if not all) hold true till date.
Overall, a good read!