Half-Open Windows

by Ganesh Matkari, Jerry Pinto (Translator)

n acclaimed contemporary Marathi novel, Half-Open Windows (Khidkya Ardhya Ughadya) is a striking portrait of India’s urban upper middle class on an obsessive quest for riches and prestige. Set in the enticing yet treacherous city of Mumbai, it closely follows the lives of people connected to SNA Architects, an up-and-coming firm, basking in the glory of their recent success—a high-rise in the premium area of Colaba.

As events unfold, we encounter the corrupt and ruthless Niranjan, founder of SNA, and his associate, Nita, who think bribery is a small price to pay to get to the top; another founder of SNA, the honest but naïve Sanika, and Shushrut, an aspiring writer who is no longer content to play her stay-at-home partner; an NGO worker, Swarupa, torn between her loyalty to an old friend and her duty as a whistle-blower; a lonely widow, Joshi Kaku, who wonders if moving to the US to live with her son and his family—with whom she can forge no connections—is a wise idea; and Ramakant, a young student of architecture, who is contemplating suicide in a desperate bid for attention.

Even as this diverse cast of characters chases happiness and success, Mumbai emerges as the central character—the driving force behind their aspirations and dreams, and their ethical compromises.

Combining sharp observation with dry humour, Ganesh Matkari provides rich insights into the human psyche. His compelling prose and Jerry Pinto’s pitch-perfect translation make Half-Open Windows an unputdownable read.

Genres: India

208 pages, Paperback

Published April 4, 2017

Reviews

[Ameya Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful slice-of-life set of stories set in the Mumbai of 2017, each narrated from a different lens and tied in together. Relatable characters, relatable problems, relatable rationalization to decisions. With the metropolis as a central character in the backdrop of every one of them.

You will probably enjoy it more if you've stayed in Mumbai or you're in Architecture, but you'll enjoy it anyways. Finished it in almost one-sitting.

PS - Knowing the language it's translated from busies you in a slightly guilty exercise of trying to second guess what the original Marathi text/statement was. Nonetheless, a seamless translation - the kind where you wouldn't know it's a translation if you hadn't been told about it.

PPS - a small critique would be that in hindsight some of the stories just seemed to be thrown in there, without really tying them in to the larger plot. Also the blurb on the inside cover was unnecessarily judgemental and spoiler-ish (skip that if you can)...

[Krutika · Rating 3 out of 5]

• r e v i e w •

Half-Open Windows captures 2017 in about 200 odd pages. Written by Ganesh Matkari who happens to be an architect and a film maker, it is only apt to see the stories revolving around architects and the people involved in their lives. The translation has been done smoothly by Jerry Pinto and this alone scores few points. As unique and Mumbai-ish these stories might be, they did little to impress me. Probably because I couldn't picture Mumbai vividly while reading the book. I do however enjoyed how cleverly the author brought the book together.

Half-Open Windows has multiple narrators and it won't remotely be possible for me to describe them all. The story mainly revolves around SNA architectural firm and its employees. It further branches out into their families/friends etc. I don't know if it was intentional but the first and last chapters are narrated by the same person while the rest introduces us to different people. They carry no similar theme but are bound together by a fine thread. There's a lonely widow who dreads moving abroad, a young couple going through a turbulent time, a corrupted architectural firm, a suicidal man and stories of betrayal. Each story is different from the other. But these weren't extraordinary. I couldn't connect with a few of them while few, I did enjoy reading. Overall, I felt it didn't portray enough of Mumbai. I wouldn't recommend it but there's no harm in giving it a try either.

Rating : 3.4/5.

[Ganesh Ghawate · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are just the first thoughts after reading the book.

तर पुस्तकाचे कथानक थोडेसे असे:

तीन आर्किटेक्ट मित्रांनी (म्हणजे दोन मित्र आणि एक मैत्रीण यांनी) सुरु केलेली एक फर्म.
त्यातील एक पक्का बेरकी. Deals crack करण्यासाठीचा business sense (?) पुरेपूर असलेला.
दुसरा एक वैयक्तिक/कौटुंबिक समस्यांनी त्रस्त.
आणि तिसरी एकदम झोकून देऊन काम करणारी strong independent woman. आपल्या boyfriend सोबत एका posh society मध्ये राहणारी वगैरे.
Architecture म्हटल्यानंतर वेगवेगळे contracts मिळवण्यासाठीची या सर्वांचे आपापल्या परीने चांगले / वाईट प्रयत्न.
त्यातून उद्भवणारे प्रश्न. मग पीडितांच्या मदतीला धावून येणारी NGO.
योगायोगाने NGO मध्ये काम करणारे यांचेच जुने मित्र / collegues.
मग हात अडकल्यानंतर दुसर्याला बळीचा बकरा वगैरे बनवणे.

थोडक्यात एखाद्या सिनेमा सारखा प्लॉट आहे. सर्व भाव-भावनाही आहेत.
म्हणजे एवढी posh society असूनही कुत्र्या-मांजरा वरून भांडणारे शेजारी आहेत. भांडणे असूनही शेजारधर्म पाळल्याचे काही प्रसंग आहेत.
typical परदेशी settle झालेली मुले आणि त्यांचे म्हातारे parents असंही थोडसे आहे.
boyfriend ला इमाने इतबारे सांभाळणारी आणि तुला जे हवे ते थोडक्यात follow your passion म्हणणारी girlfriend आहे.
Breakup - Patch-up असे सर्व काही आहे.
grey shade असलेली characters आहेत.

मात्र पुस्तक entertaining असले तरी तेवढेच typical पण आहे.
दुसरी गोष्ट म्हणजे हे मग्रंजी किंवा इंग्रठी पुस्तक आहे. नाही समजलं? सांगतो. पुस्तकात जवळ जवळ २०-३०% वाक्ये तरी इंग्रजीमध्ये आहेत.
इंग्रजी असण्याला काही आक्षेप नाही. पण बरीच इंग्रजी वाक्ये मराठी मध्ये वाचताना खूप जड जातात.
आजच्या पिढीची भाषा वगैरे ठीक आहे पण इंग्रजी वाक्ये इंग्रजीत असती तर चालली असती.

एकंदर एखादा अगदीच उनाड दिवस असेल आणि वाचण्यायोग्य दुसरे काही नसेल तर हे पुस्तक जरूर वाचा.

[Nirav · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I have read a full book in Marathi after a decade or so and that’s why it took me time to finish it off early. A book which has been translated from Marathi to English by Jerry Pinto deserves a first read in Marathi. I have read Baluta and Cobalt Blue in English first and the latter I read in Marathi later and absolutely fell in love with it but also regretted I didn’t read in Marathi first.
So, this time around I didn’t want to make the mistake of reading it first in English and challenge myself to read in its original version. I read it thinking it shall be tough for me to understand a bit since I was reading after a long while, but surprisingly it didn’t feel that way. It came very easily to me and the language was too pretty easy on my eyes since a lot of English words were used while narrating each story.
This book contains different perspectives of people working in and around an upcoming architectural firm in the city of Mumbai. You can read all separately or one by one, where each story gives you a different perspective to their life in the city. For once I even thought I shall start from fourth story after reading the first two, but each story is so interconnected and it moves forward. You should read it one by one in a straight line or randomly, it might give you a new outlook to the whole book.

All in all, I felt in love with this book, considering I shall definitely read the book in English again if you do understand Marathi, you might wish to read this before reading how Jerry Pinto has interpreted it. If you’re opting to read a Marathi book for the first time, the author won’t disappoint you at all. Considering it’s his first work of fiction, its commendable work and it did connect to in ways on how people in the city of Mumbai lead their day to day life.

[Madhura Gurav · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that you wouldn't want to put down, but rather read it in one sitting. At the same time, you want to take it slow and enjoy every chapters. Torn between the two, I stretched it to two days, savouring each chapter. It was hard, since I was totally hooked.

The story is set in modern day Mumbai, but, it is not specific to the city. In the sense, it could happen in any of the metropolitan cities. That makes it more relatable. The characters are very real, maybe you'll find them around you! I like how Ganesh has employed different voices for each chapter. And their distinct characteristics easily distinguish them. Like how Sanika uses a lot of English words. Rohan is your typical 21st century kid and converses accordingly.

I may be showing favouritism by giving 5 stars; but, I simply couldn't resist giving an extra star for the way the story moves forward and how every narrator is different person altogether. The only narrator who is used twice by Matkari is Sushrut. Maybe the fact that the novel started off with him is a good enough reason for him to end the narrative.

Also, although we've an ending, at the same time, it is sort of open-ended too. So, after closing the book, we wonder about what will happen next! I like how the overall story-line is brought about by the author. Even little incidents like the school boys' fight urges you to keep turning the pages.

'Khidkya Ardhya Ughadya' is a book that I would highly recommend to book-lovers in general and contemporary realist fiction lovers in particular.

[Ramya · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded upto 4.

It's a beautiful representation of urban life, the problems that come with it, the relationship dynamics in a world that's driven by ambition, pressure and greed, and the consequences of choices that people make. Although the themes sound heavy, the book is a fairly breezy read and I got through it in a day. Each chapter in the book is told from a certain POV with only one character given the liberty to tell his story twice (and that gives the book the light, romantic feel-good factor). You could easily think of it as a collection of short stories too because although each story adds to the main story in some form, these stories could stand on their own as well. I don't know Marathi, but the translation felt very organic and non-clumsy and hardly felt like a translation at all, which is brilliant!

Contemporary fiction like this is needed to act as a mirror to the times we live in. The characters are so relatable, it could easily be one of us, or a colleague or a neighbor or a friend. My only critique would be that some stories lacked pace and felt slightly force-fitted into the overall narrative.

[Selva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers a bunch of vignettes into the life of 3 people who are partners in an architectural firm and also delves into the life of some people connected to these people without any plotty interconnections between the chapters. If somebody asks me to write what this novel is about, I don't think I would be able to say anything immediately except that all the people belong to the upper middle class spectrum. If it was interesting, I would say yes. If it was insightful on anything, I would say 'yes, without trying hard to be'. Only thing that was plotty about this novel was its sort-of -romantic, cute ending. Writing, I mean the translation by Jerry Pinto, was good. Recommended.
Rating: 4.5 stars

[Kiran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why do we humans in a bout of irrational pragmatism feel that we are immune to the vagaries and epiphanies of the the irrevocable yet omnipresent "Time"?

Why is it that we choose to sacrifice unblemished sublime relationships at the altar of ambition?

This book talks about the intertwined lives of modern,educated, ambitious yet incomplete individuals interspersed with the alluring skylines and the inordinate chaos of Mumbai. Extremely thoughtful, this novel prods you to question the liberal overdose of this conjecture of"Good Life"and the quantum of sand we need in this hourglass of life.

I could not stop but quote Jack Kerouac's lines from his epochal novel 'On the Road'
"I came to a point where I needed solitude and just stop the machine of thinking and enjoying what they call living, I just wanted to lie in the grass and look at the clouds."

[Nirav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leaves the same impact as the original work in Marathi. It is a light and breezy read. Offers different perspectives of people working in and around an upcoming architectural firm in the city of Mumbai. Jerry Pinto again has done a fabulous job in translating the text and keeping it true to the original. Commendable work by the publisher too for bringing forward such stories of regional indian literature. Would love to read more work of the original author be it in Marathi or English.

[Aniket Patil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay book with not so surprising stories. Stories are set in todays environment. The reason I wanted t oread this one was to catch the things that I am missing in todays writing. However, I seem to have farely well idea about present life. That might be the reason, I am not surprised. Overall good book.

I cant say, one should read it for sure. But giving a try wont hurt, especially if its from local library. :)

[Saurabh Shivpuje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very beautiful build up. One of my favourite endings of book. Loved last four stories which are spellbound.

[Aprameya Hebbar · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utter disappointment !

[Rishita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 4.25

[Piku Sonali · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been wanting to read this book for a long time. In the end, Bestie and I decided to read this together on our Bombay journey. I read the original one in Marathi and he read the English version. Because of Jerry Pinto's excellent translation, he enjoyed the book as much as I did. Half Open Windows falls somewhere between a Novel and short-story anthology. 8 of the 10 stories are narrated by different narrators, while the first and last one is narrated by the same person. There is a common thread binding all the stories and they are set amongst the higher middle-class families in contemporary Bombay. The characters are not perfect, even despicable at times but they feel so real, like someone you'd know, like someone you could relate to. We loved the way Matkari structured the book and in the end we were left wanting for more. When good books end, one always feels like they should have went on and on.... If, like us, you are planning to take a Bombay trip through books, this is one stop you shouldn't miss!

[Parmeet Kohli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Half-Open Windows is a beautifully crafted book which moves the story forward in short intervals or spurts, each from the point of view of a different character. A few chapters in you begin to join the nodes in this graph of characters and events. Also, big fan of Jerry Pinto's translations. He's single-handedly making contemporary Marathi literature accessible to so many of us!