Tamasha in Bandargaon Paperback – December 1, 2011 by Navneet Jagannathan (Author)

In the fictional suburb of Bandargaon, tucked away in Bombay, there s never a quiet moment. Dreams erupt, hopes shatter, in the heaving Sunrise Apartments, by a rickety tea-cart Jinias Chai Hause, inside a seedy Jaanam Desi Bar, and by the dilapidated Purana Qila. 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 contends with an overfriendly 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.