Dangerlok

by Eunice de Souza

'Dangerlok' is the word coined by Rina Ferreira, middle-aged, single, lecturer of English, to cover all occasions, dangerous people, tiresome people, people she doesn't like. Rina lives in a squalid corner of Bombay and daily comes across some dangerlok. Yet she will live nowhere else in the world. Rina observes all around her and dashes off letters brimming with the details of her life to David, an old flame now in America. Funny, irreverent and sad, Dangerlok is the story of an urban life, with all its absurdities, loneliness and, of course, danger.

Genres: Fiction, India

114 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2003

About the author

Eunice de Souza (1940–2017) was an Indian English language poet, literary critic and novelist.
Among her notable books of poetry are Women in Dutch painting (1988), Ways of Belonging (1990), Nine Indian Women Poets (1997), These My Words (2012), and Learn From The Almond Leaf (2016). She published two novels, Dangerlok (2001), and Dev & SImran (2003), and was also the editor of a number of anthologies on poetry, folktales, and literary criticism.

Reviews

[Sayari Debnath · Rating 5 out of 5]

laugh out loud funny. so good!

[Ipshita · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book often refuses to be categorised; in fact, it defies one. Although as a genre Eunice de Souza's 'Dangerlok' is a novella I personally refuse to categorise it as a "story". It's a series of disjointed narratives based on the life of a middle-aged professor, Rina Ferreira. Fragments of life portrayed with humour, witticism and a hint evenly spread out melancholia.

A short, enjoyable and I'm assuming pretty much autobiographical (?) book. I'm glad to have read it.

[Crystaline John · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5! I loved the author’s not-fully-stream-of-consciousness narrative style. It seems confusing at first, but is so readable, witty, layered, and simple in reality. Lovely observations of society and the protagonist’s own life. I loved the explorations of her relationship with her bai, her friends, the random men, and of course with ‘dangerlok’ in general. ❤️

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book best read in one sitting with several cups of tea and a cigarette or two. Short, succinct and impeccably funny, this book had me amused throughout. So unbelievably witty too! This book is laced with the mundane drudgery of living in Mumbai, the familiarity of buses, local trains, taxis and colleges.

[ashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling read. I read / consumer art because writers like Eunice are able to articulate experiences which I thought are oddly specific to no other human being but me. As the kids call it, “relatable”.

[Ankita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has multiple shades; it's witty, poignant, satirical, serious, and sardonic all at once. I wish it were a bit longer. The language is simple and lucid.
3.5/5⭐

[Nayan Nitesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dangerlok is a heady milange of prose and poetry: it inebriated me at times and left me confused. But, I was never not amused as I went from page to page eager to know what the protagonist would next launch a commentary upon. What I liked best about it is its caustic/romantic reflection on the city of Mumbai. I have been trying to find some sort of connection with the city, and Dangerlok arrived on my shelf quite timely.

[Darsana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A short quaint little read that's almost stream of consciousness. The main character seems to be a sort of stand in for the author as Rina Ferreira, a middle-aged unmarried Anglo-Indian English professor in 90's Mumbai. Her wry sense of humor shines through as she observes life sprawling around her in the city. Her own life is adorned with her books, her parrots, tea, cigarettes, friends, the people living around her and letters to old flames.

Mumbai is described as only a Mumbaikar can. For a short book, it comments on so many aspects of Indian life - the daily hustle, the traffic, political and religious fanaticism, misogyny, casteism, the anglo-indian experience, the wage gap,the sheer joy the city brings, the sheer grit needed to live there.
Rina's flaws are also portrayed front and centre in that her classism comes through in her observations and even the name she's given to people who annoy her - 'Dangerlok'

One of my favourite sardonic quotes from the book -

The Indian is a busy person. Through the heat of summer, the shiver of winter, the deluge of the monsoon, the moonlit nights of autumn, and the intoxication of our brief spring he has always much to do - a power-cut to survive, a bribe to give, a graft to take, an eve to tease, a wife to burn, a shradha to perform, a wedding to attend, a temple to visit, a vote to cast, a reputation to spoil, a government to criticize, a boot to deflect. Where, then, is the time to go under?

I wish it had been longer and better edited though. I enjoyed it nonetheless

[Parvathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dangerlok, she says, all dangerlok. It's a word she's made up and covers all occasions. Dangerous people, tiresome people, people she doesn't like. Dangerlok." Rina Ferreira is referring to her bai, in a letter she is writing to an ex-student, who was also possibly her lover. Rina, single, an English lecturer, living in '90s Mumbai has irreverently witty takes on everyone and everything she sees around her - be it her neighbours from Utter (sic) Pradesh, the post office with no stamps, the potholes you have to jump over to get to the bus, the growing chauvinism of religion and language, the yuppies (when was the last time you heard that word?) discovering the ordinary restaurants of Mumbai...
It has you laughing out loud in places, as you see the city you live in through her eyes - '90s Mumbai is spot on!
I have read and loved Eunice D'Souza's poetry. Her fiction (she has written only two novels) is a revelation. This novella is a treasure - funny with a touch of melancholy, a combination that is irresistible. You can finish reading it in one sitting but you will want to savor it for much longer, I can assure you.
A big recommend.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author-poet Eunice de Souza uses not-quite-but-almost stream of conciousness narrative style to create an interesting character, Rina, who we meet through her observations delivered by a third party omniscient narrator. I read this little novella as more of a tribute to clinically urban Bombay, which forms a hidden protagonist. It's well-crafted. Perhaps I wasn't in the mood for it or I am just used to something with a plot, but I struggled to get through one observation after another, eventually just piecing together this woman's life in a nutshell and how she regards the people around her. I give it four stars because it has a great use of craft and in the end, does what it sets out to do, pretending to be nothing else but a tight story about an English Literature teacher stuck teaching in a university in India at a tough time when religious fanatics run amok and studying English Literature is an elitist aspiration. Those who know the city will get another level out of the book.

[Renata · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can be said about Eunice De Souza that hasn't been said already? Not just a poet and author, but an editor and columnist and a teacher par excellence, Eunice was instrumental in bringing literature alive and sowing the seeds for a love of the written word among generations of students.

Dangerlok offers us a semi-autobiographical peek through its protagonist Rita Ferreira's life - a middle-aged professor of English literature, living in a corner of the great big city of Mumbai with her pet parrots, and the people she comes across in day-to-day life. Written as a dual narrative - through third person account as well as through an epistolary exchange between Rita and a penpal - the reader gets a glimpse into all the travesties of urban life.

From hilarious episodes of teaching a neighbor English and learning Hindi in exchange, to ruminations of daily life, experiences of prose writers looking down on poets, the significance of the housemaid, nosy landlords, excessive importance bestowed upon certificates rather than actual knowledge, discussing Jane Austen, David Copperfield, Meena Kumari and Mithun Chakraborty, tending to stray animals, the elitism displayed by English language authors and publications towards regional writers, the many hidden treasures in Indian languages which don't get their due, taxi rides and train journeys - a crisp, compelling tale of a true blue Mumbaikar, narrated in Eunice's famed tongue-in-cheek style.

A mix of prose and poetry, a series of disjointed narratives rather than one whole story, a commentary of a mediocre life, a satirical connection with a city, sombre and laugh-out-loud - Eunice shows us why she is a master of the language she taught for decades. She was posthumously awarded the Kamala Das Poetry Award a few days ago, for the reverence she commanded as poet and teacher. Witty, enthralling, dangerously beautiful, elegant in its simplicity, and memorable all the way with a cover that fits like a glove - Dangerlok is a must-read.

[Prayash Giria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceedingly witty, to the point it makes you laugh out loud every five sentences, Dangerlok is a little gem of a book in which De Souza weaves together seemingly disconnected daily experiences of an aging spinster to craft razor-sharp commentaries on love and lust, loneliness and solitude, compassion and disdain, hope and nihilism, and the singular experience of simply existing in a city like Bombay. I practically wolfed this novella down in a single shift, and would encourage others to do the same.

[Deeghi Basu · Rating 5 out of 5]

It shows through this novel that De Souza's actually a poet. Dangerlok reads like sheer poetry. Being way ahead of it's time, it's a wonder this book isn't spoken about so much more. It's a gorgeous little hidden gem.

[Guneet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious short read. She makes single women look good. Which is difficult in India.

[Vampire Who Baked · Rating 4 out of 5]

classic bombay satire, extremely extremely bombay cadence, and one of those endlessly readable books you wish were much much longer.

[Aanchal · Rating 1 out of 5]

It felt like I was reading someone's personal diary and love letters... A quick read.

[Harshita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot imagine myself not loving this book.

[Samikshan Sengupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cynic take on urban Mumbai. Nice one !

[Anjali · Rating 4 out of 5]

very carrie from sex and the city – in 90s bombay

[Student · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it with a perpetual smile. Sometimes I guffawed.

[Shivi Bhalla · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a brilliant novella about Mumbai. A glimpse into the lives of people who live on the edges

[Piku Sonali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful little bundle of joy.

[Amal Mathew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird.

[Edwina D'souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this—funny, witty, and occasionally melancholic.

[Caroline]

Reading a Century Project 2001

[Rohini Raman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty, poignant, caustic and hilarious. Rina Ferreira is a force to reckon with. Reads like a razor sharp poetry collection.

"Nature is mosquitoes" LOL.

[Prachi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guys wtf she's too good

[Poonam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book written very untraditionally where several fragmented thoughts etc are put together to give a glimpse of life of Rita Ferreira, a single, middle-aged English Lecturer who owns two parrots and lives in Queen's Diamond building in Bombay. What stands out is the wit and humor with which these fragments of Rita's life have been written. There were several times I wanted to write things down (it is rare for me) because it is funny or very well said.

Dangerlok is a name coined by Rita's maid who calls the annoying post office clerk or anyone who can cause urban inconvenience that. Author can also laugh at herself: she is a poet herself and her protagonist Rita is also a dubious one. She writes: The poets are predictable. Most of them can barely write a line that is alive. She mocks seminars and creates intriguing phrases such as 'a man of sterling insignificance'. I am going to use that somewhere. There is snide commentary on Hindutva and also an item about Godse's getaway car that is still around and now in a vintage collection.

In midst of all the wit, her prose also shows empathy; there is a place where she writes about a poor woman who has only one sari. She would wash one end of it and hold it out to dry while covering the rest of herself with the another end. Maybe there even empathy about men: 'Majority of men live lives of quiet desperation.' or was it Thoreau. In this her love for tea ('there is only one solution for one problem: a cup of tea', Bombay ('the most expensive slum in the world; someone called it Bombay'), literature ('Really, English literature departments are held to account for all kinds of things these days, including the decline of the civilization') , individuality (why not 'the world is his oyster') shines through. :)

[Chelsea Mcgill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella features the reflections of Rina Ferreira, a middle-aged denizen of Bombay (Mumbai) whose sardonic humor allows her to make the most of her relatively lonely life. A lecturer in English literature, Rina is single, compassionate, and devoted to her two parrots - even when they make a mess of her small flat. Or convince people that Rina is crazy by sitting on her head when she answers the door.

Rina has two primary outlets for her humorous reflections on life in Bombay: David, an old lover living abroad, to whom she writes frequent letters; and her household help, or bai, who enjoys gossiping about the city's "dangerlok" with her employer over cigarettes and cups of "jungly tea" (recipe: throw water, tea leaves, and milk into pot, boil, add sugar to taste). The result is a complex portrait of the amusing situations that arise in a major metropolitan city, through the observations of one middle-aged college professor.

When I first started reading this book, I was put off by the tone, which struck me as very similar to the narrator of The Giraffe's Neck (an IFFP book that I really disliked). But unlike in The Giraffe's Neck, in which the main character is a really a despicable person who judges people according to her interpretation of social Darwinism, Rina is the sort of person I would like to meet - someone who notices the amusing misspellings on the signs, or sees how the bus driver reacts to driverless rickshaws clogging the street in front of him. Rina actually notices things, and the things that she notices are important parts of the everyday life of the people around her. The term "dangerlok," instead of referring to people who are actually dangerous, refers to people who are annoying or are busybodies, traits that are extremely common in Rina's urban world.

Read the rest on my blog: http://thegloballycurious.blogspot.co...

[Nirmal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a little marvel. I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Its protagonist Rina Ferreira is a mumbai based woman who is anglo-indian/christian, unmarried, English teacher, Poet and who is a decent individual who wears all her identities and attitudes in a light and non-intrusive manner. However everyone around her is not necessary a decent individual - These individuals her maid calls as "DangerLok" (literally Dangerous folks).

Book is short and crisp and written in a tone that is sardonic but not cynical. It is witty and it is practical without any preachy/holier-than-thou attitude.

Book is written in the form of Letters to her long distance lover/ex David in the form of letters these are interspersed in between with the narrative passages written in second person. While the surroundings are full DangerLok her core friends are usually liberal and liberated. For example she shares the details of her other Lovers/ex's with David without inhibition and he reciprocates same from his side. They both seem quite detached and reconciled with no trace of past baggage or enmity.

In a David is her long distance soul-mate with whom she shares all her happenings good or bad. She also has a local friend (part soulmate, part competitor) Vera who is married to a writer Mulk.

I had a great time and will be re-reading sometime later.