Word Smith

Interestingly,the complicated relationships that each character of Chaudhuri’s novel share with music,almost holds a mirror to their flawed,angst-ridden relationship with life itself.

“My protagonist Nirmalya comes from an affluent Bengali family in Bombay. However,as a teenager he wears a torn kurta but expensive shoes. Through Nirmalya,I tried exploring the dichotomies inherent in most urban,rebellious teenagers. They try to denounce their world they come from,but are also unable to leave it completely,” explains Chaudhuri.

The character of Shyam ji,a music maestro who is compelled to give music lessons traveling all the way down to a affluent man’s house,is in a way,a metaphor for where classical music stands in the mercenary world of today feels Chaudhuri.

“But we also have to realize that we cannot encounter art except in worldly circumstances – ones dominated by compromise. Yet,art transcends it,” he says,adding that the ambivalent interaction of art with the banalities of life,doesn’t make the former any less problematic an entity than the latter.

Chaudhuri’s narrative is not autobiographical he declares,but draws a lot from his own experience with music. “A lot of Shyam ji’s quirks were typical to my guru ji. He too,like Shyam ji had a troubled relationship with music – at times he created impediments for himself,and at other times he met with ones created by circumstances and people,” recollects the author.