Book Review: English August, Upamanyu Chatterjee

I smirked and laughed my way through this book. English August is an excellent read!

My bias!

I may be a little biased in my liking for this book. It is because the plot of this book is almost a perfect projection of my life at present. But still I feel the uncanny, witty and satirical writing style is in perfect harmony with the plot and the characters in the book.

I am currently working for a Public Sector Enterprise: posted at a factory location at Vijaipur, Madhya Pradesh. Undeniably, this place is remote, very remote. Before coming here, I have been in major cities for almost 26 years. I have spent majority of my life in one of the best cities in India, “The City Beautiful’, Chandigarh. Its blend of modernity and traditional fervor is unmatched across the country. Evidently, I love Chandigarh. So, Vijaipur is a massive transition for me. So it was, for Agastya.

Content Summary

Roll back a few years to 1970s and you will meet Agastya Sen or August or Ogu, the son of the Governor of Bengal and the central character of this book. He is brought up and educated in Kolkata and Delhi (Metropolitan Cities). At 23, after clearing the Indian Civil service examination, he gets posted to ‘Madna’ for a year-long training as an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) Officer. Now, Madna is a modern day Vijaipur. Well, to be fair to August, the description renders it way ‘remoter’ than Vijaipur.

The author presents August as an Anglicized Indian given his westernized outlook and lack of finesse in speaking Bengali. August vividly narrates his deepest feelings and jumbled emotions about his job as ‘IAS sahib’ and fascinatingly details his impressions about Madna and the people he meets as a part of his job. The language and thought process presented is so natural that I couldn’t help thinking about my ‘Anglicized’ Bengali friends.

August’s family (Dad and Uncle) and friends, both in Delhi and Madna find a promising supporting role in his story (Friends for soft drugs and Uncle as a critic). In order to survive in a subdued location, August uses distinct strategies to avoid work and explores unique excuses for not being in office. In one of the hilarious parts, August steals his superior’s car keys to make him scowl and shout at his servants. Why? Just to break the monotony of the events happening around him.

Recommendation

Overall, August’s struggle to accept his rather enviable situation and a candid firsthand account of his survival tactics is very engaging. Equally compelling is his final decision and the way he reaches the decision while he thinks, overthinks, gets intoxicated and stoned, with flair. Happy Reading!

Additional Info:

The author of English August, Mr. Upamanyu Chatterjee is a 1983 batch IAS officer who is currently serving as a Joint Secretory on the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board. This book has been adapted into a movie ‘English August’, directed by Dev Benegal and Rahul Bose features in the lead role. Of course, the movie is rated 7.1 on IMDB.

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