Delhi: A Soliloquy

by M. Mukundan, Fathima E.V. (Translator), Nandakumar K. (Translator)

‘A gorgeous portrait of the lives of Malayali migrants in New Delhi during a turbulent period of India’s history. Simultaneously nostalgic and unflinching, evocative and savage, Delhi: A Soliloquy does the impossible, and makes me want to visit New Delhi again. Mukundan is a writer of immense power and refinement.’
—Aravind Adiga, author of The White Tiger

It is the 1960s. Delhi is a city of refugees and dire poverty. The Malayali community is just beginning to lay down roots, and the government offices at Central Secretariat, as well as hospitals across the city, are infused with Malayali-ness. This is the Delhi young Sahadevan makes his home, with the help of Shreedharanunni, committed trade union leader and lover of all things Chinese.

Then, unexpectedly, China declares war on India. In a moment, all is split asunder, including Shreedharanunni’s family. Their battle to survive is mirrored in the lives of many others: firebrand journalist Kunhikrishnan and his wife Lalitha; maverick artist Vasu; call girl and inveterate romantic Rosily; JNU student and activist Janakikutty. As India tumbles from one crisis to another—the Indo-Pak War, the refugee influx of the 1970s, the Emergency and its excesses, the riots of 1984—Sahadevan is everywhere, walking, soliloquising and aching to capture it all, the adversities and the happiness.

Hailed as a contemporary classic in Malayalam, this is a masterful novel about ordinary people whose lives and stories have leached into the very soil and memories of Delhi.

Genres: Fiction, Indian Literature, India, Historical Fiction, Novels

533 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

M. Mukundan(Malayalam: എം. മുകുന്ദൻ) is one of the pioneers of modernity in Malayalam literature. He was born on 10 September 1942 at Mayyazhi in Mahe, a one-time French territory in Kerala. He served as the president of Kerala Sahitya Akademi from October 2006 until March 2010.
Mukundan is known in Kerala as 'Mayyazhiyude Kathakaaran' (The story-teller of Mayyazhi). His native village of Mayyazhi figures in his early works: 'Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil', 'Daivathinte Vikrithikal', 'Appam Chudunna Kunkiyamma' and 'Lesli Achante Kadangal'.
His first literary work was a short story published in 1961. Mukundan has so far published 12 novels and ten collections of short stories. Mukundan's latest four novels 'Adithyanum Radhayum Mattu Chilarum', 'Oru Dalit Yuvathiyude Kadanakatha','Kesavante Vilapangal' and 'Nritham ' carries a change in structure and approach.
'Oru Dalit Yuvathiyude Kadanakatha' reveals how Vasundhara, an actress has been insulted in the course of acting due to some unexpected situations. It proclaims the postmodern message that martyrs are created not only through ideologies, but through art also.
'Kesavante Vilapangal' one of his most recent works tells the story of a writer Kesavan who writes a novel on a child named Appukkuttan who grows under the influence of E. M. S. Namboodiripad. 'Daivathinte Vikrithikal' bagged the Kendra Sahithya Academy award and NV Prize. 'Ee Lokam Athiloru Manushyan' bagged the Kerala Sahitya Academy award. Daivathinte Vikrithikal has been translated into English and published By Penguin Books India.
In 2008, Mukundan's magnum opus Mayyazhi Puzhayude Theerangalil fetched him the award for the best novel published in the last 25 years. Three of his novels were made into feature films in Malayalam . Mukundan wrote the script and one of them bagged a state film award.
Mukundan's latest novel is "Pravasam" (sojourn in non-native land) and tells the story of a Malayali whose journeys carry him around the world.
The French government conferred on him the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in 1998 for his contribution to literature.

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delhi is a city that is always close to my heart. The fact that I was able to live there for a short span of my life makes this book more special to me.

M. Mukundan is an author who has written multiple books about Delhi and Delhi life. I am proud to say that I was able to read them all, and I liked each one of them.

This book consists of stories related to Delhi. Whenever I enter a bookstall and see a new book by M. Mukundan that I haven’t read yet, I won’t leave that shop without buying that book. I simply love his articulation skills, like a few of my favorite authors. This would be a good choice if you loved any of his previous works.
—————————————————————————
You can also follow me on
Instagram ID - Dasfill | YouTube Channel ID - Dasfill | YouTube Health Channel ID - Dasfill - Health | YouTube Malayalam Channel ID - Dasfill - Malayalam | Twitter ID - Dasfill1 | Snapchat ID - Dasfill | Facebook ID - Dasfill | TikTok ID - Dasfill1

[Praveen SR · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is there a better time than now to read a book set in Delhi, when the city lies battered and bruised, after a manufactured riot and a period when the city remained breathless thanks to the apathy of the Government and at a time when attempts are being made to wipe all the visible signs of the old Delhi and to make it anew? Mukundan's 'Delhi Gadhakal' is not just set in Delhi. The city is not a mere geographical marker, but its soul, its varied hues and its emotions are very much present all through the work.

Yet, this is no nostalgia trip for a long lost Delhi. Rather, the narrative is strung together by some of the darkest events in our country's and the city's history. It spans right from the Indo-China war of 1962 to the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971, the horrors of the emergency and the anti-sikh riots of 1984. The book begins from the death of Sreedharanunni, a staunch Communist and trade union activist in 1962, purportedly due to the shock of the Chinese attack. Though that whole opening incident looks a bit contrived and stretched, thankfully the book slips into a more believable world soon, with the arrival of the protagonist Sahadevan, a wannabe writer who dabbles in odd jobs to make a living.

The story is firmly sit in the lower middle class and middle class Malayali community of Delhi from the 1960s to to the 1980s, with all of beset with personal tragedies and struggles in their different ways. There is Devi, Sreedharanunni's wife, who has to bring two children up with her salary from a low-paying Government job. Rosily works as a prostitute to make enough money to return home and marry her boyfriend. Journalist Kunhikrishnan and wife Lalita lives a somewhat contended life, compared to the others, until their world is turned upside down by the emergency. Most of them have gelled into the life in Delhi, yet in some corner of their minds nurse a wish to return to their home one day. Except a few like Vasavappanicker, an artist, who does not seem to care much for money even when he becomes a sought-after artist after he was discovered from the streets by an art curator.

But, it is not just the Malayali community that becomes the focus here. Their seamless interactions with the other communities too around them points at the syncretic culture in that city even amid the political and communal upheavels around them. The other communities in the novel, for instance the Punjabis, does not come in as masses or random characters, but as key presences in the narrative. The lasting relationship between Sahadevan and his former house owner Uttam Singh and his family is a case in point.

With some of the most important national events being used to strung together the narrative, it is inevitable that one or the other characters are bound to get affected by these. Often, reading about a character, in whom we have invested our emotions in, caught in such an event would make us feel the enormity of it, much more than reading impersonal accounts from the history text books or news reports. Barber Dasappan's tale from the emergency days is one such. So are some of the pages that reveal the horrors of forced sterilisation. Mukundan has deftly weaved in events like the Turkman Gate demolition.

Yet, by the time the book reaches the period during the anti-Sinkh riots, one gets a nagging feeling that the writer has somehow planned one of the main characters to get affected personally in each of these major upheavels. Barring that, this is an ambitious work that is an ode to a city, looking at how people fit in and interact with it at various levels and find their place in it, only to see them losing it one fine day.

Coincidentally, around the time I was reading this book, I began binge-listening to S.Gopalakrishnan's beautiful 'Dilli Dali' podcast. Both the book and the podcast somehow transported me to the more simpler times of the pre-2014 India, which did have its failings, but which hardly ever made me sick to the stomach that I feel often nowadays. More than anything, the book documents the old Lutyens Delhi and its blend of Mughal and Rajput architecture. Many of the 1000 odd monuments that speak the city's and the country's somewhat chequered history makes their appearance in the book.

Mukundan marks many a street and corner of Delhi with vivid pictures. Some of these streets, trees and places might remain only in such books after it is remade by pompous emperors to suit their vanities and to erase the past that reveals the violence of their forefathers. But then, this is nothing new for a city that has been built and rebuilt many a time in its history.

[Arun Divakar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The city of Delhi has always been equated to power when it comes to India. Money flows in from other states but there is an inherent belief in the mind of an average Indian citizen that the strings are all pulled by those who sit in Delhi. History tells of a town which is a mashup of the ancient and the new all bundled into one package. Delhi has that special place in lore of being the capital that every invader wants to crush in their fists. But then again Delhi stands up on its two feet again and shows the world that yes I am resilient enough, send me your next drove. Such a strength of will is now more exhibited by Mumbai where inspite of multiple instances of acts of terrorism, humanity continues its unrelenting march onwards to the next day full of sunlight ! In my visit to Delhi, the parts that attracted me most to it were the still standing testimonies to eras past.It gave me a feeling that history in itself was embracing me in a tight hold that made me dizzy swimming in it. Delhi Gaadhakal (My translation of the title : The Delhi Chronicles)is such a slide show of history as seen from the people of this fabled town.

I have read passages from William Dalrymple's City of Djinns and found them extremely readable and likeable and I can perhaps count another three or four other books with their focus exclusively on this city. So what is the difference here ? The difference lies in the view point of the principal character, Sahadevan who tells us what it is to be powerless, helpless, hungry and lonely amidst this teeming mass of humanity. Sahadevan is an immigrant from Kerala who lands up in Delhi in the early 60's and he takes baby steps from absolute to relative poverty along with the still young Indian republic. He sees the three wars that occur in the 60's and the 70's. Lives in terror and shakes in impotent rage as the country goes through the state of emergency in the late 70's. He rides past 1 Safdarjung Road in the morning of October 31, 1984 where after a few hours, Indira Gandhi is assassinated. The anti- Sikh riots that followed makes him realize the pointless existence of human beings against the face of blind hatred. Sahadevan still lives on, without a female consort for he lives his life for others and is happy being a bystander, a wallflower. He moves along with the flow and watches as the dust settles down in the lives of others and they reach turning points. In the end, either Delhi grows into your marrow or you pack up and leave town is what he realizes and I could not help but be fully sucked headlong into this melee. A place of unbearable heat and teeth chattering cold that still maintains its regal bearing while standing amidst a lot of filth (human and otherwise).

Mukundan is an author for whose works I have always felt a strong affinity toward. When as a novice reader of Malayalam literature, he walked me along the banks of the river Mayyazhi or when his characters took me along to Hardwar, I have felt a very easy connect with the characters and narrative. Here I find him unflinching in the portrayal of poverty and of orphaned lives. The anecdotes he weaves in about the emergency and the anti-Sikh riots are unsettling and has an intimacy that only a long time resident of the place can recreate. I was enamored more with the ambiance of the tale rather than the characters or the dialog. There is then a very subtle thread of hope for the characters no matter how abysmal the situation they are in. In a very casual reference, Mukundan makes sure that the reader also realizes this slender ray of light amidst all the darkness.

Recommended.

[Prashanth Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delhi a soliloquy - m.mukundan

ಎಮ್.ಮುಕುಂದನ್ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳು ಬಹಳ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿರುತ್ತವೆ.‌ ಅವರ ಹಲವಾರು ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳು ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೂ ಬಂದಿವೆ. (ಮಾಹೆ ನದಿಯ ದಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ).
ದೆಹಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವಾರು ದಶಕಗಳ ಕಾಲ ಇದ್ದವರಾದ ಕಾರಣ ಈ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆತ್ಮಕಥಾನಕ ಕೂಡ ಹೌದು.
1959ರಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆಲಸ ಹುಡುಕಿಕೊಂಡು ರಾಜಧಾನಿಗೆ ಬರುವ ಮಲಯಾಳಿ ಸಹದೇವನ ಜೀವನ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯಾನಂತರ ಇಂಡಿಯಾದ ಕಥೆಯನ್ನು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ದೆಹಲಿಯ ಕತೆಯನ್ನು ವಲಸಿಗ ಮಲಯಾಳಿಗಳ ಬವಣೆಯನ್ನೂ ಬಿಚ್ಚಿಡುವ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಇದು. ಚೈನಾ ,ಭಾರತದ ಮೇಲೆ ಆಕ್ರಮಣ ಮಾಡಿದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ಓದಿ ಎದೆ ಒಡೆದು ಸಾಯುವ ಮಲಯಾಳಿ ಕಮ್ಯುನಿಸ್ಟ್ ,ಅವನಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಬದುಕು ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ದೇವಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಅವಳ ಇಬ್ಬರು ಮಕ್ಕಳು , ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಲ್ಲವೆಂಬ ಕೊರಗಿನ ಲಲಿತ ಹಾಗೂ ಆಕೆಯ ಪತ್ರಕರ್ತ ಗಂಡ, ಬಾಡಿಗೆ ಕೊಡದಿದ್ದರೂ ಪರವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ ನೀನು ಇರು ಎನ್ನುವ ಉತ್ತಮ್ ಸಿಂಗ್, ಅವನ ಉದಾರಿ ಕುಟುಂಬ , ಮದುವೆಗೆ ಹಣ ಜೋಡಿಸುವ ಕನಸು ಹೊತ್ತು ಬರುವ ರೋಸಿಲಿ , ಸ್ವಂತ ಸಲೂನ್ ಅಂಗಡಿ ಇಡುವ ಕನಸಿನ ದಾಸಪ್ಪ ಹೀಗೆ ಹಲವಾರು ಜನರ ಕನಸುಗಳು, ಛಿದ್ರ ಆಸೆಗಳ ಮೂರ್ತ ರೂಪ ಇದು. ಇದರ ನಡುವೆ ,ನೆಹರೂ ಸಾವು , ಚೈನಾ ಆಕ್ರಮಣ, ಭಾರತ ಪಾಕ್ ಯುದ್ಧಗಳು, ಇಂದಿರಾ ಆಡಳಿತ ,ಎಮರ್ಜೆನ್ಸಿ, ನಸ್‌ಬಂದಿ, ಇಂದಿರಾ ಹತ್ಯೆ, ಸಿಖ್ಖರ ಕಗ್ಗೊಲೆ ಒಂದೇ ಎರಡೇ. ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಹಲವಾರು ಘಟನೆಗಳ ಜೊತೆ ಈ ವಲಸಿಗರ ಬದುಕಿನ ಏರುಪೇರು ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಿದ ಬಗೆ ಬಹಳ ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿದೆ.

ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಜೆಸಿಬಿ ಬಹುಮಾನ ಕೂಡ ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಅನುವಾದ ನಾನು ಇಷ್ಟರವರೆಗೆ ಓದಿದ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಸರಳ ಅನುವಾದಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು. ತುಂಬಾ ಸರಳವಾಗಿದೆ.


ಮಲಯಾಳಂ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಕಾರರ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳು ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟವಾಗುವುದೇ ಹೀಗೆ. ವಲಸೆಯ ಕತೆಗಳು ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಮಣ್ಣಿನ ಗುಣ. ವಲಸೆ ಅವರ ಹುಟ್ಟುಗುಣ .ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಬೇರುಗಳು ಕೇರಳದ್ದಾಗಿ ವಲಸೆ ಹೋದ ಜಾಗದ ಇತಿಹಾಸವೂ ಓದಲು ಸಿಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಡು ಜೀವಿತಂ, ವಿಷಕನ್ನಿಕೆ,ಕಾಲಂ , ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಕಾದಂಬರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದನ್ನು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿ ಗುರುತಿಸಬಹುದು.

ಓದಲೇಬೇಕಾದ ಕೃತಿ ಇದು. ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೇ ಓದಬೇಕಾದ ಅಗತ್ಯ ಖಂಡಿತವಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲ.

[Sreelekshmi Ramachandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

എറണാകുളം പബ്ലിക് ലൈബ്രറിയിൽ നിന്നാണ് ഞാൻ സാധാരണയായി പുസ്തകങ്ങൾ എടുക്കാറുള്ളത്..
ആ ഇടത്തിന് എന്���െ ഹൃദയത്തിൽ അത്രമേൽ സ്ഥാനമുണ്ട്.. എനിക്കത്രയും സന്തോഷവും സമാധാനവും തരുന്ന ഒരിടം കൂടിയാണത്..

കഴിഞ്ഞ ദിവസങ്ങളിൽ ഞാൻ പുത്തകത്തിൽ ഇട്ട ഒരു പോസ്റ്റിൽ എം മുകുന്ദന്റെ കൃതികളെ കുറിച്ച് പറഞ്ഞിരുന്നു. അതിൽ ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ വായനക്കാർ പറഞ്ഞത് ദൽഹി ഗാഥകളെ കുറിച്ചാണ്.

അപ്പോൾ പെട്ടന്ന് മനസ്സിൽ തോന്നി ഒന്നുകൂടി ആ പുസ്തകം വായിക്കണം.. കോളേജിൽ പഠിക്കുമ്പോഴാണ് ആദ്യമായി 'ദൽഹി ഗാഥകൾ' വായിച്ചത്..
കാലം കടന്നു പോയി.. ഇപ്പോൾ വീണ്ടുമൊരു പുനർവായന...

ഒരു പുസ്തകത്തിന് നമ്മളെ എത്ര സഹായിക്കാൻ പറ്റുമെന്നോ..
നമുക്ക് ആശ്വാസം തരാൻ.. സമാധാനം തരാൻ.. വേറെ തന്നെ ഒരു ലോകത്തേക്ക് നമ്മളെ കൂട്ടികൊണ്ട് പോവാൻ.. പല തരം ഇത് വരെ കാണാത്ത, കേൾക്കാത്ത ജീവിതങ്ങൾ കാണാൻ..
അതെന്റെ അനുഭവമാണ്.. നിങ്ങൾക്ക് അങ്ങനെയുണ്ടോ എന്നെനിക്കറിയില്ല.. എ

എത്ര വായിച്ചാലും മുകുന്ദന്റെ പുസ്തകങ്ങൾക്ക് എന്റെ ഹൃദയത്തിൽ സ്ഥാനമുണ്ട്.. എത്ര പുനർവായനകൾ നടത്തിയാലും മടുക്കില്ല.. മറക്കില്ല

[Hareesh Kakkanatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

ദല്‍ഹി ഗാഥകള്‍ - എം മുകുന്ദൻ

എം മുകുന്ദന്റെ ആത്മകഥാ സ്പർശമുള്ള ഈ നോവൽ ചരിത്രസംഭവങ്ങളുടെ ഒരു നേര്കാഴ്ചകളാണ്. രാജധാനിയായ ദല്‍ഹിയുടെ ആയിരത്തിത്തൊള്ളായിരത്തി അറുപതുകള്‍ മുതല്‍ ഇന്നേവരെയുള്ള സംഭവപരമ്പരകളെ പശ്ചാത്തലമാക്കി രചിച്ച നോവലിലെ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങള്‍ എല്ലാം സാധാരണക്കാരാണ്. അവരുടെ ജീവിതത്തില്‍ ചരിത്രവും ചരിത്രസംഭവങ്ങളും എങ്ങനെയെല്ലാം ഇടപെടുന്നു എന്നും അവരുടെ ജീവിതം എങ്ങനെയെല്ലാം മാറ്റി മറിക്കപ്പെടുന്നുവെന്നും നമുക്ക് കാണിച്ചു തരുന്നതിനായി നോവലിസ്റ്റ് തന്നെ നായകനായി പലപ്പോഴും മാറുന്നുണ്ടെന്നു നമുക്ക് കാണാൻ സാധിക്കും.


ആദ്യകാലങ്ങളിൽ ഡെൽഹിയിലേക്ക് കുടിയേറിയ കേരളീയരുടെ ജീവിതവും ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടുകളുമാണ് ഈ നോവൽ ചിത്രീകരിക്കുന്നത് അവരോടൊപ്പം തന്നെ ഡൽഹിയിൽ ഇഴുകിച്ചേർന്ന മറ്റു സംസ്ഥാനക്കാരും അഭയാർത്ഥികളും പട്ടാളക്കാരും രാഷ്ട്രീയ നേതാക്കന്മാരും തെരുവിൽ ജീവിച്ചു തെരുവിൽ പട്ടിണികിടന്നു മരിക്കുന്ന നിരാലംബരായ മനുഷ്യരും മൃഗങ്ങളും ഒക്കെ ഇതിലെ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളാണ്; അല്ല നമ്മുടെ രാജധാനിയുടെ നേർ ചിത്രങ്ങൾ ആണ്.


1962 ലെ ഇൻഡോ ചൈന യുദ്ധം, പിന്നീട് നടന്നിട്ടുള്ള ഇന്തോ-പാക് യുദ്ധങ്ങൾ, അടിയന്തരാവസ്ഥ, ഇന്ദിരാഗാന്ധിയുടെ വധം, സിഖ് വിരുദ്ധ കലാപം എന്നിവയും വ്യക്തമായി വിവരിക്കുന്നു. ഗോതമ്പും കോളിഫ്ളവർ വയലുകളും ഏക്കറുകളിലേക്ക് വ്യാപിച്ചുകിടക്കുന്ന ഡൽഹിയുടെ ഗ്രാമീണതയെ അതേപ്പടി ചിത്രീകരിച്ചിരിക്കുന്ന ഈ നോവലുകളിൽ നമ്മുടെ രാജ്യത്തിന്റെ അഭിമാനത്തിന്റെയും നേട്ടങ്ങളുടെയും കോട്ടങ്ങളുടെയും മുറിവുകളുടെയും പൗരാണികസ്തംഭങ്ങളുടെ പ്രൗഢിയും നേരിട്ട് കാണാവുന്നതാണ്.


പ്രവാസി മലയാളികള്‍ അതിജീവനത്തിന് ശേഷിയുള്ളവരാണ്. ജന്മനാട്ടില്‍ ജീവിക്കുമ്പോള്‍ അനുഭവിക്കേണ്ടിവരാത്ത നിരവധി പ്രതിസന്ധികള്‍ പ്രവാസജീവിതത്തില്‍ അവര്‍ അനുഭവിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. ഡല്‍ഹി മലയാളികള്‍ക്കിടയില്‍ ഒരു ചെറിയ ന്യൂനപക്ഷം മാത്രമേ സുരക്ഷിതരായി, സസുഖം കഴിയുന്നുള്ളൂ. ഭൂരിഭാഗം മലയാളികളും ഒട്ടേറെ പ്രശ്നങ്ങള്‍ നിത്യജീവിതത്തില്‍ അഭിമുഖീകരിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. കഷ്ടപ്പെടുന്നവര്‍ ഏറെയാണ്. സാമര്‍ഥ്യംകൊണ്ടല്ല, സഹിഷ്ണുതകൊണ്ടും അധ്വാനം കൊണ്ടുമാണ് അവര്‍ അതിജീവനം സാധ്യമാക്കുന്നത്.


എന്നാൽ അതിജീവനത്തിനു പോലും ശേഷിയില്ലാത്ത പട്ടിണിപ്പാവങ്ങൾ എങ്ങനെ അടിച്ചമർത്തപ്പെടുന്നു അവരെ നമ്മുടെ ഭരണകൂടവും സമ്പന്നവർഗ്ഗവും എങ്ങനെ ചൂഷണം ചെയ്യുന്നു എന്നത് ചില വർഗീയ ശക്തികളുടെ അതിക്രമങ്ങളിലൂടെ കാണിച്ചു തരുന്നു. ഒരു കാര്യം ഞാൻ പറയാം. സാധാരണക്കാരനായ ഒരു മനുഷ്യനെ പ്രതിനിധാനം ചെയ്യുന്ന നോവലിസ്റ്റ് തൻ്റെ പ്രതിഷേധങ്ങളെ മുഴുവൻ "കഥാ സന്ദര്ഭങ്ങളുടെ പച്ചയായ ചിത്രീകരണത്തിലൂടെ" പ്രകടിപ്പിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്.
അധികാര വർഗ്ഗത്തിന്റെ ഗർവ്വും, വർഗ്ഗീയ വാദികളുടെ അക്രമങ്ങളും അഭയാർത്ഥികളുടെ നിസ്സഹായതകളും എല്ലാം നമ്മെ ഭയപ്പെടുത്തിയേക്കാം.


പച്ചയായ മനുഷ്യനാണ് ഇതിലെ നായകൻ എന്ന് ഞാൻ പറയും കാരണം ജീവിതത്തിലെ ഉയർച്ച താഴ്ചകൾ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ചിന്തകളെയോ മനോഭാവങ്ങളെയോ ഒരിക്കലും ബാധിക്കുന്നില്ല. മാത്രമല്ല മറ്റുള്ളവരെ സ്നേഹിക്കുക, സഹായിക്കുക അവരോടൊപ്പം സഹതപിക്കുക എന്നീ നിഷ്കളങ്ക പ്രാകൃതമുള്ള എന്നാൽ ഒട്ടനവധി ആളുകളിൽ കണ്ടുവരാത്ത ഒരു സ്വഭാവമാണ് നായകനായ സഹദേവനുള്ളത്. 40 കൊല്ലത്തെ പ്രവാസത്തിനുള്ളിൽ തൻ്റെ മുന്നോടിയായും പിൻഗാമിയായും വന്നവരൊക്കെ വലിയ നിലകിൽ എത്തിയെന്നതൊന്നും അദ്ദേഹത്തെ നിരാശപ്പെടുത്തുന്നില്ല. മാത്രമല്ല അതൊന്നുമായിരുന്നില്ല അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ലക്ഷ്യങ്ങളും.
സങ്കീര്‍ണമായ ഇന്ത്യന്‍ അവസ്ഥകളുടെ മുഴവന്‍ നേര്‍കാഴ്ചകളും മുകുന്ദന്‍ നമുക്ക് മുന്നില്‍ മുഖംമൂടിയില്ലാതെ തുറന്നിടുന്നു. ഇത് ഒരു പ്രവാസ ചരിത്രവും കൂടിയാണ്. ദാരിദ്ര്യത്തിന്റെയും കഷ്ടപ്പാടുകളുടേയും പ്രവാസം. ഒരുപക്ഷെ ഗള്‍ഫില്‍ ജീവിതത്തിലുള്ളവര്‍ക്കുമാത്രം ഈ നോവൽ അത്രമേൽ ഇഷ്ടപ്പെടാം . അല്ലെങ്കിൽ എണ്പതുകൾക്കു മുന്നേ ജനിച്ചവർക്കും. ഒരു പക്ഷെ ഇത് അവരുടെയെല്ലാം ജീവിതകഥയാകാം.

ഇനിയും ഒരുപാട് പറയാനുണ്ട്. കഥാപാത്രങ്ങൾക്കിടയിലേക്കു ഇറങ്ങിച്ചെല്ലുകയാണെങ്കിൽ വളരെ അധികം എഴുതേണ്ടിവരും.

അവസാനമായി ഒന്ന് മാത്രം പറഞ്ഞോട്ടെ; എല്ലാ പ്രവാസത്തിന്റെയും അവസാനം നാട്ടിലേക്കു ഒരു തിരിച്ചുപോക്ക് എന്നത് തന്നെയാണ്. അത് മാത്രമാണ് ഏതൊരുപ്രവാസിയുടെയും ലക്‌ഷ്യം. അതൊരുപക്ഷേ ജീവനോടെയാകാം അല്ലാതെയാകാം. എന്നിരുന്നാലും ഓർമ്മകളിലൂടെ തൻ്റെ ജീവിത ചര്യകളിലൂടെ എന്നുമൊരു തിരിച്ചുപോക്ക് അവൻ നടത്തുന്നുണ്ട്.

[Vineeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the greatest thing I have read with the history and life in a city as the novel's backdrop. This and not Mayyazhi is M. Mukundan's best work(personally). This is a bible and Sahadevan is my Jesus. Delhi Gadhakal is a wholesome book. No character will ever influence me like Sahadevan from Delhi Gadhakal.

[Sulagna Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem discovered thanks to the Bookshop at Jor Bagh. This novel translated from Malayalam is reminiscent of Rohjnton Mistry in describing the Emergency Era India. This set in Delhi while the latter was in Mumbai. Very evocative and wonderfully translated.

[Ahtims · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very immersive read, hence the five star rating, though it had it's drawbacks

I was introduced to the Delhi of the late 50s by the 19 year old Sahadevan who came there to eke out a living and soon became a part and parcel of his close group of Keralite friends, landlords, workplace people and other acquaintances. I encountered the geopolitical situation of Delhi and it's slowly unfolding history through their eyes
I traveled in time and place through the late 50s into the early 90s.
I witnessed 3 wars,many unrests, political and religious strives, violence and major events, happy as well as sad.
I became a part and parcel of Delhi for the past one week.
I was in a Delhi which I never did know , the Delhi which is not the polluted and crowded one I come to see on my short visits.
The Delhi shown by Sahadevan is alien to me, however is much preferable to the one I have seen in my travels in the 21st century.

A must read book for all Indians.

[Ajay Varma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book, excellent world building.

[Bahul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read ..... thank you Mukundan sir ....Helpless about my self.... Helpless to create a win-win situation in ones life.... As the real, practical, materialistic, placid,ravaging,happier, gloomy,surprising,depressing,sympathizing , mocking life of mine traversed through its various stages I remained helpless to help myself..... I was never in the race to win or lose , I enacted various roles handed over to me in the play of life ..... My theatre was Delhi , the very place where destiny of many a play's were written and rewritten and sometimes scrapped off..... I am helpless and it was my choice

[Varghese Abraham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives an excellent account of Delhi in the 70’s. A really engaging novel; readers who like travelogues will definitely fall in love with this book

[Raji · Rating 4 out of 5]

A piece of fiction that manages to hold your attention throughout 537 pages is something indeed.

For my #ReadingIndia goal, I picked M Mukundan's 'Delhi: A soliloquy'. And it is a wonderful book to improve one’s acquaintance with India’s capital. It offers a history of Delhi over one man’s lifetime and that history was more educational than any of my school textbooks. It spans the China and Pakistan wars, the Emergency and the Sikh genocide and is extremely painful to read. It also offers a geography of Delhi, a social geography that highlights the impoverishment and the wealth that seem to define not just Delhi but all of India.

Although the book ostensibly deals with the life of a Malayali in Delhi and most of the central characters are other Malayalis, there is a host of interesting characters from different states who one meets with amusement and unconsciously begins to care about. These range from central character Sahadevan’s many landlords to the man who washes and irons his clothes and the Bangaldeshi child who is begging on the streets of Delhi when Sahadevan first meets him. For me, the characters and the picturisation of Delhi itself were the highlights of the book.

Sahadevan’s arrival in Delhi — albeit, to the squalor that is the reality of the capital of independent India — nursing numerous hopes, mirrored the expectations that people had for the end of colonial oppression and the beginning of self-rule. And Devi’s departure for Kerala at the end seemed to reflect the despair that had blighted all such hopes since little seemed to have changed in the state of the nation’s capital. In that sense, this book is truly about India and not just Delhi. And I kept thinking of Rohinton Mistry’s Such a Fine Balance as I read this book. Both books made me extremely uncomfortable with their stark, unvarnished portrayals.

There is much I loved about this book. For a Malayali born and brought up away from Kerala, there was more than a whiff of nostalgia. I think my parents might enjoy and identify with this book even more than I do because it is probably very close to their experiences. However, I do think Mukundan is a little biased in favour of Malayalis who often seem like they can do no wrong and to have better standards than other Indians.

Also, Mukundan’s writing kept reminding me that he is a man. I am not sure if he was being satirical but his description of bus journeys strengthening human relationships and facilitating erotic fantasises seems miles away from (and insensitive to) the experience of most women for whom travel on public transport in India is usually a nightmare of sexual harassment. In fact, even today, there are girls in Kerala who travel in buses with safety pins handy to deter groping hands!

And towards the end of this mammoth work, I did wonder if the author’s attention began to flag. Or maybe I read it wrong. But it felt like Sahadevan started a new job after turning fifty but also that he celebrated his fiftieth birthday after starting his new job. Did I read it wrong or does Mukundan employ a tone that would make satire clearer to dunderheads like me but that is lost in translation? I don’t know. Although I must say that the translation by Fathima E V and Nandakumar K was brilliant. It made for fluid reading while retaining a certain Malayalam flavour that made me smile (all the eda, edi, chechi, ettan and more that made me hear the Malayalam being spoken).

On the whole, this was a great book and I am glad I was able to read it.

[Mira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure - I picked up this book as a part of some research I am doing for my own book which has segments set in Delhi between the 1950s-1970s.

That said, I was pleasantly surprised.

Having just read “The Covenant of Water”, and also having just got engaged to my Malayali partner, it felt like I’ve had a really solid introduction to Malayali culture, not to mention my Malayalam vocabulary is up from 0 to about 8 words now! But that’s a personal aside.

Originally written in Malayalam, this book offers a glimpse into the lives of Malayali migrants to Delhi between the 1960s to the late 1980s or early 1990s. It also serves as a history of life in Delhi.

Sahadevan lives through war, his own personal ups and downs, the caste prejudices of Brahmin North Indians, the Emergency and the bloody killings of Sikhs in 1984.

With him is a colourful cast of characters: an artist who beats by the tune of his own drum, a widow with two children, a journalist, and a call girl, among others, who all through their own ups and downs.

The book has a wry sense of humour particularly poignant are Mukundan’s observations about the city, but it is also heartbreaking and brutal in its depiction of the hardships that many migrants into Delhi may have had to face.

It’s a slower read because there is a rich amount of detail about the lives they lived - be it bottles of old monk, charminars or the places they lived. However it is also beautiful if you can let yourself be lost.

Of course as with any translation, it’s hard to tell what has been lost from the original. But it made me laugh and cry in perhaps less than equal parts.

A must read for lovers of Delhi history who are also fiction buffs.

Happy reading!

[Subin PT · Rating 5 out of 5]

A writer's description of what one would have read in India After Gandhi. Stories many could relate to, stories that would make you deeply sad.

[Sonali Dabade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review soon!

[Sarthak Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read. The plot has a way of moving a bit here and there, but you are rarely lost.

The Delhi between 1960 and 1991 is vastly different to the posh, urbane metropolis we know it as today. It was younger, fragile and volatile. The author has done a great job at creating a series of moving pictures from that time.

This book is a lovely window into a community still finding its feet in the capital of a new country.

[Parvathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sahadevan is one of thousands of poverty-stricken Keralites who came to Delhi in the fifties looking for a way to make a living. This is the story of Delhi seen through his eyes, across three decades, through the Chinese and Pakistan wars, the Emergency with the Turkman Gate massacre and forced sterilization camps, the anti-Sikh riots, and finally the start of the liberalization era with easy money, McDonald's and Pepsi. Along the way, we see a whole host of characters, Punjabis and Malayalis, Muslim and Christian, painters and barbers, sex workers, activists, journalists and government employees. Through it all, there runs a deep vein of empathy for the powerless mass of people with so little agency in their own lives - the sex worker tricked into her profession, the family torn apart during a riot, the barber who loses everything in a demolition drive. It's brutal in places - the poverty depicted is heart breaking and so is the violence man inflicts on man. It's not a hopeful story even if the winds of change blowing through Delhi are bringing in a level of wealth unseen before. Sahadevan at 50 is still battling for the little man with the hard life, and it's not getting any better for him. As a reader though, there seems to be a certain wallowing in that hard life. Sahadevan remains a child of the 60s and 70s, slightly lost in a new emerging India where there is opportunity for individuals willing to find them. Overall though, it's a novel that has to be read as one that humanizes history- history seen through the eyes of the individual living it. Worth a read just for that ground up look at the big events in the first few decades of independent India.

[Anjo Cheenath · Rating 5 out of 5]

ദൽഹി ഗാഥകൾ - എം മുകുന്ദൻ

തലസ്ഥാന നഗരമായ ഡൽഹിയിൽ കുടിയേറി താമസിക്കുന്ന മലയാളികളിലൂടെയും അവരുടെ പശ്ചാത്തലങ്ങളിലൂടെയും ഏതാണ്ട് മൂന്നു പതിറ്റാണ്ടോളം വരുന്ന ഡൽഹിയുടെ ജീവചരിത്രം രചിക്കുന്ന എം മുകുന്ദൻ്റെ നോവലാണ് "ദൽഹി ഗാഥകൾ". നാട്ടിലെ ദാരിദ്ര്യത്തിൽ നിന്നും രക്ഷപ്പെടാൻ അമ്പതുകളുടെ അവസാനം ഡൽഹിയിൽ വന്നെത്തുന്ന സഹദേവൻ ആണ് മുഖ്യ കഥാപാത്രം. സഹദേവനിലൂടെയാണ് വായനക്കാർ ഡൽഹിയെ അറിയുന്നത്.

സ്വതന്ത്ര ഇന്ത്യയുടെ സ്ഥാപനത്തോടെയുണ്ടായ പ്രതീക്ഷകൾ മങ്ങി, കടന്നുവരുന്ന നിരാശാബോധം, തീരാ ദാരിദ്ര്യം, ചൈനയുമായും പാകിസ്താനുമായും ഉണ്ടാകുന്ന യുദ്ധങ്ങൾ എന്നിവയാണ് ആദ്യ ഭാഗങ്ങളിൽ വിഷയമാകുന്നത്. ഇടതുപക്ഷ രാഷ്ട്രീയ പ്രവർത്തനങ്ങളുടെ പശ്ചാതലവും ഉണ്ട്. ഡൽഹി നഗരത്തിൻ്റെ ഭൂമിശാസ്ത്രത്തേയും, അവിടത്തെ ജീവിത രീതികളേയും വിവരിക്കുന്നു. തുടർന്ന് അഭയാർഥി ഒഴുക്ക്, വർഗീയ സംഘർഷങ്ങൾ, ജാതി വിവേചനം, അടിയന്തരാവസ്ഥ ഇവയെല്ലാം വ്യക്തിപരമായ നിലയിൽ സഹദേവനേയും അയാൾക്ക് ചുറ്റുമുള്ളവരെയും ബാധിക്കുന്നത് വിശദമാക്കുന്നു. യഥാർത്ഥ സംഭവങ്ങളെ ഇങ്ങനെ വൈയക്തിക ആഖ്യാനങ്ങളിലെക്ക് മാറ്റുമ്പോൾ, നോൺ ഫിക്ഷൻ വായനയെ അപേക്ഷിച്ച് വിഷയങ്ങൾ ആഴത്തിൽ സ്പർശിക്കുന്നതായി തോന്നിയിട്ടുണ്ട്. മലയാളി പ്രവാസി അനുഭവത്തേയും മികച്ച രീതിയിൽ അവതരിപ്പിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.

ആദ്യം ഒരു കഥാസന്ദർഭം അവതരിപ്പിക്കുകയും, തുടർന്ന് അതുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട കഴിഞ്ഞകാല ഓർമകളിലേക്ക് സഞ്ചരിക്കുകയും ചെയ്ത്, തുടങ്ങിയ കഥാസന്ദർഭത്തിലേക്ക് തന്നെ തിരിച്ചുവരുന്ന മനോഹരമായ വായനാനുഭവം നൽകുന്ന ആഖ്യാനരീതിയാണ് നോവലിൻ്റേത്. ഏതാനും നിർണ്ണായകമായ ഭാഗങ്ങൾ ഒഴിച്ചു നിർത്തിയാൽ ആഖ്യാനം സഞ്ചരിക്കുന്നത് ഭൂതകാലത്തിലാണ്. ഒരു കഥാപാത്രത്തിന്റേയും അതിനൊപ്പം ഒരു നഗരത്തിൻ്റേയും മൂന്നു നാലു പതിറ്റാണ്ടു കാലത്തെ ജീവിതം, കാഴ്ചപ്പാടുകൾ, ആഗ്രഹങ്ങൾ എന്നിവ വിശ്വസനീയമായ രീതിയിൽ എഴുതുന്നതിൽ എം മുകുന്ദൻ വിജയിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. സഹദേവൻ എന്ന കഥാപാത്രം തനിക്കു ചുറ്റുമുള്ളവരുടെ ജീവിതത്തിൽ ഇടപെടുന്നത്, തൻ്റെ ഡൽഹി ജീവിതത്തിൽ നേരിട്ടുകണ്ട പ്രശ്നങ്ങളോടുള്ള എം മുകുന്ദൻ്റെ പ്രതികരണമായി വായിക്കാം.

സ്വാതന്ത്രാനന്തര ഇന്ത്യയിലെ ജീവിതം വിശദമായി വിവരിക്കുന്ന നോവലുകൾ വായിക്കാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നവർ തീർച്ചയായും വായിക്കേണ്ട ഒന്നാണ് “ദൽഹി ഗാഥകൾ”. സമീ��കാലത്തു വായിച്ച രോഹിംടൺ മിസ്ത്രിയുടെ “A Fine Balance” എന്ന നോവലാണ് ഓർമ്മ വന്നത്. സമാന കാലഘട്ടത്തിലെ ബോംബെ ജീവിതമാണ് ആ നോവലിൻ്റെ ഇതിവൃത്തം.

[Divya Pal · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those rare, soul-stirring books that jolts the complacency out of the reader. Having studied and trained in Delhi (Ramjas College, UCMS, Safdarjung Hospital), hung around K Nags swilling Campa Cola (long haired, jhola toting, wearing bell-bottoms and shirts with ‘go-go’ collars), scoured Nai Sadak for books, experimented with various manifestations of cannabis in the lanes of Chandni Chowk, wooed my wife-to-be (Rose Garden in Hauz Khas, South Ex, corridors of CP), getting married in Arya Samaj Mandir BKS Marg, cuddling my newly-born daughter in Holy Family Hospital, and eventually working as a Palliative Care Physician, I can claim to be a true Dilliwala . On my first two-wheeler (a Bajaj) and later in a Maruti 800, I watched in dismay as the idyllic roads of Delhi turned into polluted streams of bumper-to-bumper traffic jams. Grand old trees gave way to the concrete jungle of present times. Love it or hate it – it’s my Dilli and having witnessed the turbulent times described in the book, I can closely identify with the defining moments in the Delhi’s history – the Emergency and the ’84 riots. The author has distilled the essence of India’s capital – a recent historical look through the eyes of an immigrant from Kerala – religion, caste, poverty, politics, slums (the so-called JJ Colonies), parochialism, riots, pogroms, socioeconomic disparity, all interlaced with communist undertones. The narrative starts from the early sixties when the present day megapolis was still a growing city

… Andrews Ganj, where the city itself ended. Beyond it were wheat fields, interspersed with cabbage and radish patches…The cauliflower patches on the right side of the narrow road leading to Kalkaji were also in darkness. No one went there after nightfall because it teemed with robbers and thugs…

Today middle-class aspirations include owing a car, flat-screen TV etc but back then

A Murphy radio was the dream of every middle-class family

Before the so-called economic liberalization in the nineties, three decades earlier, life was a struggle

he woke up to the rumble of Delhi Milk Scheme vans filled with milk bottles driving past the house. He had permits for two half-litre bottles since they were a family of four.

The author chiefly on the woes and existential concerns of the poor and down-trodden

For a man with no money, hunger was a real problem. But Vasu was one of those who belied that one doesn’t need money to get food or end hunger. How did birds and animals eat? Did they have money?

These cameos convey the atmosphere of utter poverty and indifference. In the alleys of Old Delhi

A crazed-looking woman limped through the crowd, dark blood clots between her legs. No one noticed her. No one gave her a scrap of cloth to cover her nakedness. A beggar without legs and arms propelled himself forward on his back, wriggling between the wheels of rickshaws and legs of pedestrians, balancing his begging bowl on his chest.

Food for thought

The yellow-tinged mutton-rice inside big copper pots was covered with flies. Mutton-rice or fly-coated rice? A man with a henna-coloured beard stood eating his rice from an aluminium plate, watched hungrily by a beggar. Once he had sucked out all the marrow from the bones, he discarded them into the waiting hands of the beggar, who gnawed hungrily at the bits of flesh still left on them.

More from the walled city of Dilli

A child was caught pick-pocketing someone and was flung to the ground. The crowd began to kick him in his chest and stomach. Blood spurted from his nose. His howls of pain set the hearts of the doves on the minaret of Jama Masjid aflutter with fear…

The birth of Bangladesh and the refugee influx

It was like the overflow of sludge and rocks that follows a landslide. Journeys that began as a flight from death turned into funeral processions of poverty and hunger…Beside the road, and below the trees, they appeared as sores and grew like pustules. Little children with misshapen torsos, pale yellow skin and sunken eyes thrust their arms out at pedestrians and passing cars. Most of them were naked, and the boys were circumcised.

The reign of terror that was unleashed by Sanjay Gandhi and his cohort of semen-thirsty minions was an echo of Nazi pogroms against Jews in the Fourties

‘Nasbandiwale aaye hain. Bhaag jao, bhaag jao’, the naliwala shouted…After running for some time, the pigs stopped. They swished their curly tails and stood panting. Though the pigs littered more than human beings, Sanjayji’s forced vasectomy programme did not include them. No municipal vehicles drove up with a roar to round them up and take them away by force… ‘The lives of the shit-eating pigs are safer than ours,’ Sahadevan (the protagonist) said…Until now, there was only hunger, poverty, and communal and caste conflict. Nowadays it was vasectomies, arrests and incarcerations. People disappearing had become a daily occurrence.

Blooming of the lotus and the burgeoning Hindutva wave

There are people in Delhi who feed cows when humans are starving. For them, cows are more important. You know that. They don’t know the value of human beings. It’s such men who turn into fascists. I despise them.

The housing shortage

Most Malayalis, after coming to Delhi, gave up on their dream of owning an independent house. A DDA flat was all they could hope for. Matchbox-like flats built one on top of the other. Within months of moving in, there would be seepages and leaks. The corroded water pipes would break in one’s hands

The socialist symbol of existence

A ration card was not merely for buying wheat, rice and sugar at subsidised prices, and candles and firecrackers during Diwali. It was also an identity card. An authoritative and credible testimony that he was alive on the face of this earth. Without a ration card, it would be impossible to prove that he was a resident of the city.

In short, an EPIC!

[Twishaa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is narrated from Sahadevan’s point of view, a young boy who moves from Kerala to Delhi in search of a good life. Over the years, he comes across immigrants scattered across the capital city, all struggling in their own ways. The book is about his journey forging friendships, and finding his own people in a strange city. In the immigrant mix, there is a maverick artist from a well-to-do family who insists on living as a homeless, a young call girl harbouring dreams of reuniting with her lover, a widow struggling to bring her kids up respectfully, and Sahadevan who seems to be everywhere, at all times. There are of course other characters that act as fillers as the main cast slide in and out every few pages. 

Full review: https://fivemagpies.blog/2021/04/08/b...

[Abhishek Jayadevan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing snapshot of Delhi malayalees and their life

This is a fantastic book about the lives of Malayalees who settled in Delhi and made it their home for decades. Love the great details about the city, the culture, the people and relationships presented beautifully through a variety of strong memorable characters . Through the life of Sahadevan one can get to know a great deal about key historical events like the Indo China, Indo Pak wars, the Delhi riots to name a few. Overall a great book with a very real plot written in simple and clear language which you will find hard to put down until the very end.

[Shobith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic work. The novel portrays delhi from the period of China war. All the charactors are really fantastic and live with us through out the story. The novel portrays the lifes of keralites migrated to delhi in early ages and thier difficulties. The novel glimpses all the events from Indo china war to Sikh revolt very nicely and with proof.

High voltage suspence remains about the author towards the end.

One of the best work by the author.

[Namitesh Sahu · Rating 5 out of 5]

It perfectly summarises the feelings of a migrant in Delhi. The evolution of city along with the politics as well as the stories of the characters have been intertwined with great storytelling. I was looking for such a book since a long time. It is not a happy book which is the perfect portrait of Delhi.

[Midhun kc · Rating 5 out of 5]

മടക്കയാത്രകൾ

Home is the place, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. - Robert Frost

യാത്ര പോകുന്ന ഇടത്തു നിന്നെല്ലാം ഓർമ്മകൾ പെറുക്കിക്കൂട്ടി പഴയതെല്ലാം അവൻ ആ യാത്രയിൽ മറക്കുന്നു. യാത്ര അവസാനിക്കുമ്പോൾ അവൻ വീടെന്ന ഓർമയും മറക്കുന്നു. അവന്റെ സ്വത്വം മരിക്കുന്നു.

[Ameya Joshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who's stayed in Delhi/NCR for a few defining periods in my life, I always look back at the city with some fondness. And although people from Mumbai are supposed to hate Delhi, I always found it difficult to do so - the city draws you in because there is just so many different Delhi's, both across the time and space continuums - and each of them is so soaked in history, with so many stories to tell. (I'm sure all cities do, but the expanse of Delhi's canvas just feels like it is on a scale like no other in India). And so I've perhaps consumed more books & movies about Delhi than I have about my hometown.

Delhi: A Soliloquy is then not so much a novel 'set' in Delhi, but a chronicle of modern history in India's capital. We follow Sahadevan - an anodyne good-Samaritan, erudite but unambitious, (almost wimpy in some ways) across over 4 decades, multiple rented flats and his many friends, connections and acquaintances among the Malyali diaspora in Delhi, and others as well. Sahadevan isn't a particularly strong or charismatic character, but he's someone you and all the other characters trust, rely upon and want to see good things happen to. The story doesn't stay with him though as we get a forever roving view of all the other characters on the blurb and their lives.

This isn't the easiest book to read because life in Delhi through post-independence history (especially the 60's, 70's and 80's) for most of the population was hard. The author makes no attempt to shield us from this squalor and misery. Sahadevan and his fellow friends are outsiders to the city but through their empathetic eye see, feel and are impacted by everything. The story is set into motion by the '65 war with China but more tragedy is to come. The refugee crisis of '71, the Emergency with it's clean-ups, forced sterilization and bulldozers, the anti-Sikh riots of '84 affect everyone. All of these are interspersed with an acrid look within society- fathers haunted and harassed for not paying dowry, bahu's left behind for not begetting sons, mothers' expectations from sons, brothers' responsibilities towards their sisters, home-owners' preferences about their tenants religions, honour killings and much more as the citizens evolve from hunting for a radio to hunting for television sets to beyond. This seems like a litany of sorrow - but moments of joy for a lower-middle-class (!) community seem to be at a premium in this era of Delhi. It is not a sad or tragic book, but at the same time a joyous nostalgia trip this is not. There is no closure for most of our characters, they just drift away much like people in our lives. And while the city changes on paper as we near the end, we do wonder (much like the ever-constant stench at the railway station from 1959) how much is still the same.

Where the book really succeeds is bringing this history to life through personal stories. With an array of characters, someone always brings this to life in a way a newspaper report or a Wikipedia article can't possibly do. (The sections on the Emergency reminded me of Rohinton Mistry's, A Fine Balance). Mukundan has lived through these events outside of the newspaper headlines and after the press has left. He knows the neighbourhoods into the gallis like the back of his hand which he describes with great vividity (Think City of Djinns with a more local voice). And these aren't just the marquee ones that we see off and hear about everywhere in movie montages and India @ 75 videos. Perhaps not quite 'ugly underbelly', but Sewa Nagar, Amritpuri, Jangpura, Mayur Vihar and Hauz Khas will forever be associated with this group.

The prose is spartan, the translation at least leaves you with a sense that this isn't a book which intends to show-off the author's writing prowess. Worry not Arundhati Roy, this isn't your stylistic turf. But the staccato, unsentimental, monotone style works for this story and our key central characters who lead unglamorous, almost lives of drudgery.

For those seeking a parallel, this could easily be Delhi's (India's) Pachinko - the structure and the flow is very similar. It's just that there is no love story, or overarching family saga to this - just one man who takes long walks, nurses everyone's dreams and tries to do the right thing emptying his memories on to reams of paper.

[Swati · Rating 5 out of 5]

M Mukundan’s novels are a revelation. Whether I was walking along the banks of the river Mayyazhi or watching Father Alphonse weave his magic (God’s Mischief), his stories have always transported me elsewhere.

In Delhi: A Soliloquy, Mukundan paints a gritty portrait of migrant life amidst political upheaval. Set between the early 1960s and 1980s, the story revolves around a small group of characters from Kerala who somehow come to be interconnected. Sahadevan is a young man who has come to seek his fortunes in Delhi with hope in his heart. Then there’s Sreedharanunni and his wife Devi, who hold a low-paying government job, Kunhikrishnan, a journalist, and his wife Lalita, Rosily a sex worker, and Vasu, a bohemian artist. Together, they go through some of the darkest periods in the country - the China war, the Emergency, Indira Gandhi’s assassination, etc. - supporting and sharing each other’s woes.

Unlike the other 2 books where the narrative was lilting, poetic, here, Mukundan matches it to the mood of the novel. The writing is staccato and there’s a sense of gloom or urgency. The atmosphere is moody and matches the general sense of fear and uncertainty that various events brought on.

All the main characters are given a lot of visibility and depth. Sahadevan is the hard working narrator of the entire novel. He is a reflective, observant man, and is one of the key drivers of the plot. He lives a life of struggle, and his aim is to earn money solely to support his sisters and mother back home. He is unselfish and, though, goes through poverty initially, is always there as support and protection for those undergoing more misfortune than him. Vasu’s character is the exact opposite of Sahadevan. He lives unapologetically for himself and himself alone. He is a brilliant painter with no home or possessions to call his own and leads an odd existence.

Delhi: A Soliloquy is grim. It’s blue most of the time as the characters battle against circumstances to survive. There are very few pockets of joy here. And yet, it’s one of those rare novels that doesn’t drag you down. In that lies Mukundan’s mastery. He manages to keep you reading through all the misery and immerse yourself in Delhi’s lanes. And he tells a story that sparkles with the tenacity and resilience of its characters and moves you with their emotions as if they were yours.

[Basheer Kuzhikkandathil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Delhi Gadakal by M. Mukundan is like stepping into the soul of a city through the eyes of its forgotten people. Just like Mayyazhippuzhayude Theerangalil, Ningal, and Daivathinte Vikrithikal, this novel also brings a deeply emotional reading experience. What makes it stand out is its powerful central character, Sahadevan — a Malayali bachelor who spends his entire life in Delhi, living for others more than for himself. His quiet inner monologues and philosophical reflections on life give the story its soul and depth.

Sahadevan isn’t just a character; he’s a symbol of selflessness. He sacrifices marriage, personal happiness, and comfort, dedicating his life to the well-being of other Malayali migrants and the wider society in Delhi. His kindness is never forced — it comes naturally, with no expectations. This deeply human portrayal touches the reader because it feels real, relatable, and heartbreaking at the same time. Sahadevan quietly writes his novel throughout his life, completing it only towards the end — as if his own story had to be told only after everyone else’s was cared for.

The novel beautifully captures the struggles of Malayali migrants in Delhi — their loneliness, cultural displacement, and economic hardship. At the same time, it doesn’t shy away from portraying major historical events that shaped people’s lives: the trauma of war, the restrictions of the Emergency period, the pain after Indira Gandhi’s assassination, and the horror of the Sikh massacre. These events aren’t just political backdrops; Mukundan shows how they affected ordinary lives, especially the poor and powerless. You come away from these pages not just informed, but emotionally shaken.

As a reader, this story stays with you — not because of dramatic twists, but because of its deep emotional honesty. Mukundan’s writing speaks with quiet power, and Sahadevan becomes someone you won’t forget. It’s heartening to know Pravasam is next on my shelf — because once you journey with Sahadevan and the people of Delhi Gadakal, you’ll want to keep walking with Mukundan’s characters. They remind us of sacrifice, resilience, and the invisible people who make the world a little better, one silent act of love at a time.

[David - marigold_bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delhi a Soliloquy is the second novel I have read from the JCB Prize 2021 Shortlist. Starting as a slow burner, it gradually absorbed me completely into the characters and the city of Delhi, until I became fully engrossed. It was a great read and, in my opinion, would be a worthy winner of the prize.

Sahadevan is a 20-year-old Malayali man who arrives in Delhi at the beginning of the 1960s, looking for work to support his family back in Kerala. We follow his life and those of his friends as he settles into the Malayali community in Delhi, struggling against the backdrop of a tumultuous period in history. We witness how the city and its inhabitants are affected by war with China, two Indo-Pakistan wars, the dark and desperate times of Indira Gandhi´s Emergency, her death at the hands of Sikh bodyguards following the storming of the Amritsar temple and the bloody retaliation against Sikhs.

Sahadevan strives to make ends meet, whilst secretly working on a novel. Progress at writing is sporadic, interrupted as political events affect him and his fellow Malayali friends, to whom he is a tremendously generous and compassionate man. We do not see him finish his novel, although clearly it was M.Mukundan’s task to publish it.

Despite all the hardships, poverty and violence, the novel shows the capacity of large cities to not only absorb migrants, but to become home to them. For Sahadevan, Delhi very much becomes his home town.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had only recently re-read the monumental A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry), a book I loved and with which I think it shares a good deal, not least of which is being a wonderful work of literature. Originally published in Malayalam in 2011, the translation to English is excellent.

[Venus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing read. I don't know how come i didn't feel like reading this for years. I don't really have much words to express how I felt about this book. It was an emotional read not like we will be crying over every single page but it definitely makes us emotional. We see the life of multiple people in this 535 pages. With each page we feel more connected to them and the changes their lives go through as Delhi change is so beyond the words. They go through a lot of things, suffers a lot of things but there's always something that holds them back.
This books kind of open our eyes and make us really see what's going around us. We see alot of people but we have no idea what they might be going through and what they have been through. Without knowing any of this we might be passing on our judgement or ignore their presence.
It's much more than politics. It's more about being humane. It's not difficult to read this for a person who doesn't have any first hand experience but it surely shows what can happen when people just stop being people and keep a closed eye to the injustice and sufferings around. It's also scary to put ourselves in their situations, how will we react? It's so easy to think within the safety net but what will happen if we come in face to face with such a situation...
I absolutely loved this book and will be recommended to anybody and everybody...