The Smoke is Rising – Mahesh Rao

A CITY UNDER SIEGE: THE SMOKE IS RISING

At a time when Indian literature has become synonymous with the likes of 2 States and The Shiva Trilogy, it is rare that you find a literary gem like The Smoke is Rising. With an already colourful leeway in short-story writing, The Smoke is Rising is author Mahesh Rao’s first tryst with novel writing, and I must add, a very successful one. Spread across summer, monsoon and winter, the story is based in the city of Mysore. Bringing into the fore the lives of some of the city’s residents – a blossoming relationship between two elderly widows, a wealthy advertiser, a newly-wed couple, a wife dealing with the misfortunes of married life, a maid and a journalist – the book uncovers the marvels of a city under commercial storm beautifully.
One of the best components of the book lies in the keen attention to detail as each scene unfolds. Whether describing housewife, Susheela’s mundane tasks or a heated moment between Girish and Mala, a couple coping with an unsatisfactory married life, the beauty lies in its persuasive, graphic details that make you feel like you’re witnessing scenes unravel in front of you. While the story moves at a slow pace and takes a while to build, the narrative style it follows is riveting. Coming from a debut author, the book is as funny and realistic as it is brilliantly written. I’m a Mahesh Rao fan.

QUICK FIRE INTERVIEW WITH MAHESH RAO

The ‘Smoke is Rising’ is set in your hometown, Mysore. Are any of the city’s present realities part of the book? 
There is a great deal that is based on the real contours of the city: geographical, social and political. But this is of course a work of fiction and there’s plenty to surprise people who are familiar with Mysore.

The book tells the story of a number of people; was there a reason for this?
It’s the story of a city and so the novel required a broad canvas to portray a place like Mysore with authenticity. I hope the different strands in the book show both the energy and the stasis of its setting. There are corrupt city officials, a wealthy widow, inept local journalists, a recently married woman adjusting to life in the city, a self-made advertising magnate, a maid involved in a scandal, public sector bank employees who spend their mornings waiting for lunch, a star of Kannada cinema – these could be the realities of any of our cities.

Do you have a writer you seek inspiration from?
There are dozens and dozens, so I’ll just name a few whose work I’ve revisited in the last few months: Vladimir Nabokov, Muriel Spark, Junichiro Tanizaki, William Trevor, Lydia Davis, RK Narayan and Nadine Gordimer. – Trishann Henriques Read the entire interview at www.youthincmag.com

Volume 3 Issue 12