The Sari shop by Rupa Bajwa- Part one

Genre: Societal
Story line: Character sketches of people who can only sell against those who always buy saris
Sum up: Part one- Effortless read; Part two- Gripping end
Target readers: Time pass
Number of pages: 240



The book has been wisely prepared in two parts, and the feel given to these two parts is so different that, even though there is a smooth and logical flow of happenings between the two, it could have easily been sold as two separate books! So, I thought it would make more sense to look at the two parts uniquely and review accordingly.

Part one:

Ramchand, the protagonist, and all the main characters in the story, either work at or visit The Sari shop regularly. So the story has little to do with how the sari shop itself came into existence, or about its sales figures, or the number of varieties of silk-threaded draperies that the shop carries. All those people who scorned at the idea of having to read something that deals with boring saris, and moreover, sari shops- come back! It is definitely not a “chick flip”.

You can’t but help getting reminded of the Amol Palekar era of Hindi movies reading the opening half of the book. There is this plain, simple-minded, lonely hero with a poignant past, his only company being his two colleagues: one, a mature, advice-giving family man, and another, a quick-witted carefree boy. The latter named Hari, has almost been sold out to the readers, by being presented as extremely adorable and cheerful; just like a comedian, who though crass and crude reaches out to the audience.

The parts where Ramchand pursuits for English-language education, his turmoil while encountering with a professor in the shop, the homework he does before visiting a royal customer’s house, and the effort he puts in while sitting with his books, trying to make sense out of them- all form a very delightful read. However, towards the end of the first part, the story drags, becomes repetitive, and you wish the author would move on to unravel Lakhan Singh’s story, and also the mystery behind the woman who drinks. You also become impatient as the apparently-unimportant characters such as Tina Kapoor and Bhimsen Seth are pointlessly discussed extensively.

It was a well-crafted book, it began and ended well, the chapters flew seamlessly into each other. There was a good streak of humour running through it. It received favourable reviews in the press… goes the description given by the author about one of her characters, Rina Kapoor’s book. Coincidentally, this could be the perfect account of the first part of the novel, that too, in the author’s own words.

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