The Time of the Peacock reflects poor lives of the intellectually rich
Book Title: The Time of the Peacock
Author: Siddharth Chowdhury
Chandni S Chandel
Contemporary, entertaining, unputdownable, original — Siddharth Chowdhury’s ‘The Time of the Peacock’ is a delightful work of fiction for any person associated with the world of editing and publishing. By way of three stories, assorted, yet intertwined with each other, this ‘short novel’ offers a sneak peek into the real world of publishers, writers and the literati.
It puts the reader in the shoes of writers, translators and editors and feels like a sort of reality check into the penurious lives of the intellectually rich, whose works are devoured by their own ilk, social thinkers, influencers and the elite.
The book shows you the mirror on the travails of Hindi poets and writers and how idealism and intellectualism never translate into monetary benefits. There is a conversation where a literary agent asks a writer: “How are you placed for money?” It reverberates so much with the present ‘black & white’ literary world. The novel delves strongly into the vicissitudes and insecurity that print journalists go through. It is a befitting tribute to many unknown and unread authors, writers, poets. If you don’t like writing fiction, it doesn’t mean you are not a good writer — this book helps you let go of the guilt.
With the kind of intolerance to wit, humour and sarcasm that the country is witnessing today, it is the right time to grab a copy and see how a common man is affected by any ruling regime. In this context, the relevance of a song from Sharmila Tagore’s film ‘Safar’, which finds a mention in the book, is too hard to miss: ‘Jo tumko ho pasand wahi baat kahenge/ tum din ko agar raat kaho, raat kahenge.’
Everything — from ‘gaurakshaks’ to demonetisation, Bihar, Lalu Yadav, Narendra Modi and Balakot — finds a reference to the extent it affects the common man, and not as somebody who is a part of the powers-that-be. A particular incident shows how favours are needed from politicians or big shots to even get a bed in a hospital, something true of any city or town across India.
A first-person account, it conjures a visual imagery that does not let you get off the hook. Phrases carved to convey the subtleness of the characters, like ‘lazy cadence of her accent’ or ‘it was not a disagreeable scent’ and ‘nowadays everyone Ubered’, or ‘observing the proceedings with native hauteur’ and ‘you didn’t need to wet-nurse them anyway’, will leave you in awe.
The peacock that has been introduced in the last story is one of the few fibs the author has incorporated in his fictional writing.
Overall, the book is a reader’s delight, with beautifully woven self-devised expressions showing the reality of life, far from fiction.
The author, Siddharth Chowdhury, got his first work published when he was just 19. He is known for social commentary through his story-telling and has five critically acclaimed books under his belt.
