Mr Iyer Goes to War - Ryan Lobo
A logic-defying, maverick, rollercoaster of a thriller 3D read.
Popcorn, anyone?
A logic-defying, maverick, rollercoaster of a thriller 3D read.
Popcorn, anyone?
“
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When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams,
he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin”.
Even in
translation, even with the day’s twitter-size sensibilities, and even though
very few find succour in the existentialist stronghold of Franz Kafka’s writing,
his most unforgettable opening line of The Metamorphosis, haunts. This is not
just because the writing is stark but because the imagery connects at a basic level
of humanity’s absurd struggle for emotional wellbeing.
Cut to Varanasi.
Ryan Lobo’s
debut protagonist, Mr Iyer, breaks free from the absurdity of his own existence
and takes us on a fantastical rampage, all too real.
The Ganges flows
unperturbed, as two accomplished gentlemen lay on adjacent hospice beds, waiting
to die, alone. While one fought for the country and has a gallantry medal honouring
that service, the other, Mr Iyer, is a warrior of words and learning, gallant
in his pursuit of fine literature that finds expression every now and again in erratic
tirades of mindless whim and exasperation. Lalgudi Iyer is over 70, proficient
in the scriptures and strong-willed. He has a very keen chela, the ever-eager disciple who more than makes up
for his Dom lowliness with an almost awe-inspiring passion for esoteric verses,
writing his own and quoting from grand literary canons that erudite Iyer
brandishes from time to time. While Iyer awaits spiritual enlightenment, Bencho’s
aim is to become the Corporator of his own constituency and sees his ticket to
power in Iyer’s earthly family connections.
One morning, painful
knee miraculously unlocked, concussed and with his mind free of sanity, Mr Iyer Goes to War. But unlike Kafka’s Samsa who gets trapped as a ‘monstrous
vermin’, Lobo’s Iyer flees
to freedom, traversing the length and breadth of India, ridding it of its
evils. The Ganga-side re-creation of Don Quixote, duly packaged with a Sanchoesque Bencho as loyal sidekick, Iyer, fulfils all heroic desires that
ordinarily occupy, and remain imprisoned in, the mortal subconscious. Armed
with a stick and no more, this divine hero from the realms of mythology, dramatically
overpowers gun-toting henchmen and rescues hapless earthlings. And because he
is also hapless in his human love for the ‘half-beautiful’ Damayanti, the resplendent Goddess of his fantasy-world inspires
loftier heroics in his superhuman leaps as well. Sent by the Gods, he wields a fearless
spirit, speaks like an ancient noble, kneels in chivalric submission and unleashes
a caged tiger. Of course, he gets beat up too, along with Bencho, but that’s
immaterial. Because, this is not Iyer, see? This is Bhima, the fearsome and
gallant warrior prince, saviour of mankind and vanquisher of Bakasura, the force behind
all things evil. Like Don Quixote, Iyer rises from a tired, finite certainty, into a space unconquered
by worldly predicament.
If you are
looking for a plot in Ryan Lobo’s riotous debut, you won’t find one. And that’s
what makes this modern and fun take on existential absurdity, intriguing. Real
in the human situation he carves for storytelling and even more real in the
intercutting of fact and fantasy through quick-take action sequences, Ryan
Lobo’s photographic lens-work runs amok through the narrative and keeps the
reader on edge.
Don’t look for logic
here – you’ll have to delve deep and even there you might just get entangled in
your own. But if a riot works for you, you’ll be talking about this for a
while.
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