The Mobile Phone by Pankaj Suneja

Review by Shwetha H S

The Mobile Phone is a novelette by Pankaj Suneja that tries to explain to the readers what trauma a person who has lost his nearest and dearest ones goes through. The author has done this job through the characters Rohit and Prabhu. In this story, it is shown how trauma can go unnoticed, and can lead to depression and psychotic disorders. Prabhu, a child still in school, loses his mother and Rohit, a college going student, loses his best friend and roommate Kumar. What happens to them while dealing with the trauma of loss is the essence of this novelette.

The narration is slightly confusing in this book. The author has tried to experiment with a new method of narration, but leaves the reader confused. The first person narration is what creates the problem here. The second half of the book is very similar to the author’s another book, Gulabi. Moreover, Prabhu’s illusions feel like they have been taken out of Harry Potter series. Maybe he has read that series and imagines them to be part of his real world. In the beginning, it is explained in a way that the reader understands Prabhu’s father is bedridden. But in the second half of the novelette, he is up and walking all about. This abruptness doesn’t go well with readers at all.  Apart from talking about psychosis through this novelette, the author has tried to talk about homosexuality too through Rohit and Kumar. If this is not what the author has intended to do, then this is exactly how it is represented in the book, and it is good.

If you are looking for a book to finish reading in a day, just to read for the sake it or interested in psychosis, then go for this book.

She: Ekla Cholo Re by Dr Shayan Haq and Santosh Avvannavar

Review by Shwetha H S

She is a short story about homosexual who was born boy and later embraced her feminine qualities. In a matter of 40+ pages, the authors manage to tell you about the problems that homosexuals face in our country. Starting with their own family to the outer world, they are troubled by their own people. They have problems getting into schools and colleges, finding jobs and even finding good friends. Our society is still not that broadminded to accept homosexuals too as human beings.

She has a good background. No beating around the bush. The story is told through Kusum Chatterjee with Rajendra as her audience. It is just like one of those yesteryear programs that dominated our TVs before the dawn of mega serials. Only one story at a time; no parallel stories. You can sit back and finish reading this book at one go.