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Sayip Shock: Three Years in Kerala
sayip Malayalam derivative of 'sahib', meaning 'white man' sayip shock State of surprise and accompanying erratic behaviour induced by the sight of a white man in Kerala Most travellers head to India for a spiritual experience at an ashram, or an out-of-body experience on a beach in Goa. Barnaby followed a girl to the backwaters of Kerala and got a job, got stared at, rented a house, made friends, battled ferocious ants, got stared at, counted the elephants at a festival, marvelled at mango trees in his backyard, got stared at, and had an extraordinary everyday life in one of the most beautiful parts of India. Sayip Three Years in Kerala collects the best of Barnaby's articles for The NRI, polished and updated, alongside brand new essays reflecting on his time there. There's room for a serious look at the white traveller's privilege and the cliché of finding yourself in India, but also drunk lawyers, Mumbai nightlife, and a catalogue of Kerala's best food offerings. Advance readers "A very honest, heartfelt, empathic, and beautifully written book, filled with many astute observations about life in India." "Genuine experience and description of real life in Kerala." "I'm a slow reader, so the fact that I polished it off in two weeks is saying something."
252 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 24, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 2, 2020
Cute, fun, breezy, and maybe something all "sayips" and "madaamas" should read, if planning to stay in Kerala, even for a brief stint. Not because it is a well-researched, academic, tourist guide, but especially because it's not.
This book is a human experience—real, and straight from the heart; and stomach too.
It's not just a window to 'what to expect', but a very true account to what you might end up feeling everyday, with every look and every stare. It covers feelings.
From kerala food, to certain idiosyncrasies of the populace like not 'cheesing' when clicking 'snaps '; from the unabashed curiosity towards a foreigner, to experiences on Indian Railway, it's a sweet, touching tale about what you could feel from moment to moment.
Moreover, for me, a malayali who hasn't been brought up here—a unique experience of being a malayali and yet being surprised constantly by such idiosyncrasies—the author's observations had me hovering between, 'well yeah, that's how we are' to 'oh my gosh! Exactly! Why are we like that!'
Thank you Barnaby for sending me the e-copy!
And more so for holding up a very fun and unique mirror from time to time.
This book is a human experience—real, and straight from the heart; and stomach too.
It's not just a window to 'what to expect', but a very true account to what you might end up feeling everyday, with every look and every stare. It covers feelings.
From kerala food, to certain idiosyncrasies of the populace like not 'cheesing' when clicking 'snaps '; from the unabashed curiosity towards a foreigner, to experiences on Indian Railway, it's a sweet, touching tale about what you could feel from moment to moment.
Moreover, for me, a malayali who hasn't been brought up here—a unique experience of being a malayali and yet being surprised constantly by such idiosyncrasies—the author's observations had me hovering between, 'well yeah, that's how we are' to 'oh my gosh! Exactly! Why are we like that!'
Thank you Barnaby for sending me the e-copy!
And more so for holding up a very fun and unique mirror from time to time.
September 21, 2020
An honest, heartfelt, empathic, and beautifully written book, filled with the experiences of a White foreigner living and working in a large developing country that was undergoing rapid economic growth. Through his many astute observations written in simple prose, Barnaby shines a light on a “boom town” in rural Kerala, and the people who inhabit it, by describing what it was like to live, love, work, eat, drink, and socialize there.
February 24, 2021
This is a wonderful book. The collection of essays are at times funny, sad and insightful. You don't need to have been in India to appreciate this book. As someone who has also lived abroad, he captures the joys, absurdities, frustrations and heartaches of being an 'other' in a land you have come to love.
His self-deprecating humour had me laughing out loud in parts. I particularly liked the author's descriptions of his favourite food (I had to go out and buy a masala dosa after reading!) and interactions with locals, such as his efforts to win the affections of the staff at his nearby supermarket.
His self-deprecating humour had me laughing out loud in parts. I particularly liked the author's descriptions of his favourite food (I had to go out and buy a masala dosa after reading!) and interactions with locals, such as his efforts to win the affections of the staff at his nearby supermarket.
December 18, 2020
I read this in stages - but really you have to as it's a collection of thoughts, articles and blog posts reconnected. and organised with a couple of additions.
The collection is amusing and insightful as well as revelatory.
The shortness of the articles and the easy writing style, along with the wry self-reflections make it all entertaining and we are treated to some moving philosophical moment and insights.
I enjoyed reading about persistent observers, nights out in Mumbai and Bangalore and the cliff top eateries, as well as the locals and neighbours about whom Haszard Morris avoids the patronising trap.
A great read at this busy time of year.
The collection is amusing and insightful as well as revelatory.
The shortness of the articles and the easy writing style, along with the wry self-reflections make it all entertaining and we are treated to some moving philosophical moment and insights.
I enjoyed reading about persistent observers, nights out in Mumbai and Bangalore and the cliff top eateries, as well as the locals and neighbours about whom Haszard Morris avoids the patronising trap.
A great read at this busy time of year.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews