Tamasha in Bandargaon

Chagan, the dashing hero, who shines like a film-star, spends hours wooing a beauteous Shalini. Shalini, ever fickle, oscillates between him and a pining Vinayak. Vinayak, in turn, tries desperately to win the favour of Shalini's mother, Lakshmibai. Elsewhere, the local politician, Sajjanpur, tries winning an impossible election; Miranda, a sullen mortician, seeks answers from an ailing priest; and Sultan, the irascible grocer contents with an overfriend dog. Reminiscent of R.K. Narayan's Malgudi Days, Tamasha in Bandargaon, with its interlinked stories, with its effortless dialogue and wry humour, is at once enriching and entertaining. In the young debut writer's imaginary world, there's sound, fury and the distant glimmer of hope.