Hachette India Mrs A'S Indian Gentlemen

by Dawood Ali McCallum

Genres: Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Sayantoni Das · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so if you read and liked Three Men In A Boat, I bet you'll like this one too. What. A. Beauty.


Mrs. A's Indian Gentlemen is just the kind of book that seeps with ethnic literature with a powerful sense of freedom, humour and history.


The year is 1943 and war is waging across Europe and in this patch, three Indian Gentlemen find themselves under the same roof at Swindon, hosted by the ever-so-lovely, Mrs. A. What could go wrong?
With hilarious accounts of their unusual stay at this foreign town, the author has skillfully crafted an odyssey with a motley crew of misfits trying to pull together an unlikely project that slowly creeps in and makes you a part of it. The descriptions are so vivid and beautiful that you can't help but imagine yourself in the room frame. Believe me when I say that he has not missed on even a minute detail.


If you pick this up, be prepared for bouts of laughter every now and then, pages full of sarcasm and a boxload of historical significance!

[Sigurd · Rating 5 out of 5]

MRS A's INDIAN GENTLEMEN is by far the best novel I have read in years. The historical background of the tale leads us back into the year 1943, "as war raged across Europe, Britain's Great Western Railway Works' (GWR) labour force was comprised of a few men too valuable, old or infirm for active service and thousands of recently recruited women. With critical skills in short supply, the British government looked to the empire to provide vital expertise in the run-up to the D-Day invasion. And that is how railway engineer Imtiaz, Billy' Khan, logistics supremo Vincent Rosario and maths prodigy Akaash Ray found themselves in Swindon, lodging with the well-intentioned Mrs A, hilariously navigating bland food, faulty toilet cisterns, secret assignments and a mutual distrust of each other".

And these are the ingredients for a "rollicking tale of misadventure that delightfully portrays what happens when cultures collide". The three Indian gentlemen, with a social Indian background that could not be more different, try to find their place in the community of the GWR, supposed to share their knowledge and expertise about the Indian railway system with their British colleagues who - to their surprise - are not keen at all to receive any advice not to mention orders from foreigners like Billy, Vincent and Akaash. Mistrust is the ruling passion. Some see them as German spies, searching for the weak points in the GWR system. Others suspect them of pushing communist ideology forward to agitate like-minded people in Swindon, Oxford and London to prepare for the grand revolution of the proletariat in Britain. As a consequence, the three chaps can't take a step without being watched at every turn. But they themselves are not totally innocent either and start - although under pressure of a shark named Mr. Curtis, the local chief police officer, to play colleagues and friends off against each other. So, it is getting more and more difficult for Billy, Vincent and Akaash to escape from intrigues, traps and false friendships. And it ends, for our desperate Akaash, with an attempt of suicideing.

But there is a kind of island in stormy waters for our three gentlemen, represented by the house of Mrs. Sally Atkinson (Mrs. A) in No. 23 Ashton St, a two-up, two down mid-terraced Victorian house in the shadow of the Railway Works where they found accommodation during their one year sojourn in Swindon. Looked after and kindly coddled by Mrs. A, they enjoy a bit of love and security allowing them to forget about their homesick and isolation in a society, that is not prepared to really integrate them despite their acknowledged strong contribution to major achievements in the common effort to improve the GWR system. With the time passing, No. 23 Ashton St becomes the centre of vital interest for Billy, Vincent and Akaash when not at work.

From here they reach out to enjoy a bit of private life, searching for female company and sexual adventures thus provoking sometimes hostile reactions followed by desperate frustration. Frequenting a famous pub in Swindon, which still exists, they get in conflict with drunken GIs and the business of a tallyman in the realm of shades. Whatever they try, it turns into bloody disputes and even deadly accidents, following the stringent logic of the tale. At the same time, there are always people ready to help, caring for and about our three chaps from India when the reader expects it the least. The good and the bad in people characterizes the encounters of Billy, Vincent and Akaash with the community of Swindon.

The guiding theme in this brilliant novel is the everlasting value of community, generosity of spirit and humor and kindness, even if we don't like each other! I am absolutely sure that many people will be - like me - enthusiastic about the story of our three Indian gentlemen. Actually, it is not just a story. The author invites us to share with them an important episode of their life abroad, drawing us closer and closer to their cultural background, emotional mindset, fears and hopes. After passing an entire year with them in Swindon, the three Indian chaps are my new friends and Swindon is a place worth living in.

Sigurd Lettow
Karlsruhe
Germany

[noorthebookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Fiction, General & literary Fic.

'I think attention is going to be drawn no matter what,' Billy pointed out. 'We're three- well, two and a half- Indians walking through a town that hasn't seen a foreigner since they hanged a monkey 150 years ago thinking it was Napoleon.'

Written by Neil McCallum who writes as Dawood Ali McCallum,
Published by hachette INDIA in Dec.2019,
448 pages in volume, it sure is a thick book but doesn't feel like one!

The Articulate Narration & exuberantly lively & amusing style of writing, makes it a fluid read. It also has few vernacular words sprinkled here & there for effective impact.

Dawood Ali McCallum has authored 4 books;
The Final Charge in 2014;
The Peacock in the Chicken Run in 2009;
Taz in 2007 &
The Lord of Alijan in 1997.
This is his 5th book.
He lives in SWINDON.

The Title is peculiar, to say the least but is perfectly suitable to the context of the story.

The Cover is designed by Monica Reyes & is vibrant & catchy. The Railway tracks crisscrossing in the image, serving 3 cups of tea represent the 3 main characters & the story, pretty well.

The Story begins in the year 1943 when a war is raging across Europe.. There is overload on the Great Western Railway (GWR) to send & receive supplies & men. Three men, Railway Er Billy from Gwalior State Railway; Vincent Rosario from Bombay, Baroda & Central India Railway & Dr. Akaash Ray from Calcutta are called for, to SWINDON.

The Engrossing tale is of these 3 "Indian Gentlemen" in foreign land..how they (coloured ppl) are received by the white people..what was the culture like in those days.. For 1 whole year, what kind of encounters & adventures do they experience which makes this book Enjoyable & Unputdownable & how their visit to London ends.. Do they return back to India? Or stay.. Are they still single..? Will they be able to come back safe & sound..

The Character Sketch of each of them is beautifully drawn & explicitly explained & is very interesting.

As the blurb says,
Sparkling with wit, #mrsasindiangentlemen is a rocking tale of misadventure that delightfully portrays what happens when cultures collide.

Wonderfully well- written, worth the time💖

Available @amazondotin for INR 394/- & @amazonkindle for INR 367.50/-

SWINDON is a town in South West England. STEAM Museum of the Great Western Railway, set in restored station has old locomotives and train carriages, including Queen Victoria's Royal Saloon from 1897.

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[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three Indian Gentlemen Vincent Rosario, Imtiaz 'Billy' Khan and Akaash Roy were called by Britain's Great Western Railway (GWR) for their special skills and knowledge. Vincent Rosario is a superhero in logistics, Billy Khan has an undying love for machines and Akaash Roy is called maths prodigy for his intellectual brain.

In 1943, as war rages across Europe these three Indian Gentlemen arrives in Swindon and gets a lodging with a particular Mrs. A. The only similarity being they are from India and a mutual distrust, there is nothing common between them. From culture to food habits to mannerism to religion they are poles apart from each other.

But together they contribute a lot to the GWR and even to Swindon which they might consider their home away from home.

Review

This book is completely character driven. Each character is way different from the other but being an outsider in a foreign country is what bounds them together. All three characters has a certain arc in their journey which entangles with each other beautifully.

In the starting the plot is quite slow but I guess after 30% it becomes unputdownable. This book is hilarious. The situations, their actions, their confusion is just outright funny. My favorite character is Billy. He is a sort of pervert but at the same time his innocence and his giving nature will definitely win your hearts.

The story progresses quite slowly but each and every element or situation do contributes to its ending. There is no subplot which was unnecessary and every subplot gets its due conclusion

This book deals with a variety of topics from being patriotic to being traitor, from lust to an innocent pure love story, from being funny to being over dramatic, from being an outsider to finding home in a foreign country. But each topic and each emotion hits bullseye and you connect with it perfectly.

This book takes time to get yourself involve in the story but in the end you will be shedding happy tears

[Ros Carne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawood Ali McCallum is a fascinating writer, conjuring forgotten lives in the byways of history. His latest novel is set in 1943 around the Swindon railways works that were so pivotal in the war effort. The three professional gentleman of the title have sailed over from pre Independence India to assist with logistics, coding and engineering of the trains that transport the flood of GIs into the country from the west coast ports. Mrs A is their landlady whose troubled life becomes intricately involved with theirs. All the main characters are well drawn and lovable and the true joy of the book is its humour and humanity as we trace their well- meaning but occasionally botched attempts to integrate into an alien culture. The book has a broad canvas and tells us much about Britain in the wars years, class politics, sex, race, danger, and the privations of rationing. But it does so with a light touch that is wonderfully endearing and ultimately moving.

[Aradhana Mathews · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the Second World War, three men from colonial India are sent to England to serve the Great Western Railway (GWR) and aid the British in the war efforts. While the local population tends to generalise the three protagonists, the author brings out the stark differences between them, starting from their roots – one is Anglo-Indian, another is Bengali (during the time of the Bengal famine), and the third is a member of the royal family of Gwalior.

The three protagonists take up residence with Mrs. A, whose husband is fighting in the war elsewhere. As their work in the GWR progresses, we follow each of their stories – stories around the universal aspects of class, race, companionship and solidarity (with a touch of quirkiness).

This novel brings a completely different dynamic of WWII to the forefront in highlighting the connection between India and England at the time.

Overall, I found this to be a very entertaining read.

[Emma Bloor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny and insightful story of the lives of railway men and women in 1943 Swindon. I will never look at the buildings in my hometown in the same way again. Did I mention it's funny? I laughed out loud several times (while travelling on a coach), especially at the scenes surrounding piccalilli and the dreaded overripe fruit. Although he doesn’t feature often, my favourite character is Stan. His personality adds such a great British flavour, as does, surprisingly, another character that I didn't expect. The ending, therefore, is perfect.

[Stephen Grosvenor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A readable, locally based (Swindon) story set in WW2. Full of local references and a pleasingy woven tale incorporating real events (enigma secrets) and a heart warming, though perhaps a bit idealistic, exploration of integration and friendship.

Three Indian experts from very different backgrounds are brought together in the Works in Swindon. Their acceptance in the railway "family" is the main theme.

[Ajith V J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good novel with good humor. The book has a slow start but it helps the characters to take root in you. And a lot happens in the last quarter of the book. So don't stop reading the book thinking there is no drama in the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

[Peggy Reineking · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very British, but full of trains, strategies and wonderful idiosyncratic characters brought together by a world war.

[Ans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and well thought out. A wonderful read that uses slice-of-life charm against a war backdrop.

[Barsha Roy Chowdhury · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was the year 1943. Three Indians- actually two and a half Indian gentlemen were recruited to serve Britain’s Great Western Railway. Amongst them was a railway engineer Billy Khan, a logistics supremo Vincent Rosario and the maths prodigy Akaash Ray who has a PhD in Mathematics and hence feels suitable to introduce himself as Dr Ray (why, are only people saving patients in hospitals could be called doctors?). Mrs A’s Indian Gentlemen by Dawood Ali McCallum is a delightfully comical tale of three Indian Gentlemen who found a home in a foreign country.

Swindon has never seen a foreigner walking their streets and as such, Mrs A had little idea that cultural diversities make these three Indians much different from one another. As annoying as they find each other, they had little choice but to live under the same roof.

The book doesn’t fail to give you a couple of giggles. It’s a historic and literary fiction with a perfect blend of wit and sarcasm. The conversations between the three gentlemen were oh-so-hilarious. The very first time when Rosario and Akaash meets where Rosario asks him if he was a ‘proper’ doctor, Akaash’s response then was delightfully funny.

The story is completely character driven. It’s the characters that make the book funny in an otherwise almost bland plot. There were unnecessary details about trains and railway which got a little boring at times and could not hold my interest throughout the book. The pace is miserably slow for a book of mere 400 pages. I think what we needed was more of a back story of the three men rather than unnecessary details about GWR. All in all, it was an average read and could be given a try if you are looking for a few giggles.