Ghachar Ghochar is a tight, riveting book about a family that experiences new money. There is a sequence that describes how a colony of ants infest their home. That is pure genius. In a small book, that detour, talks about the writer’s command over the story and using ants and the way the family deals with it, is revealing of its politics and again, at the cost of repeating, just genius.
A haunting, open-ended book that could soon end up on my all-time favourites. Masterfully translated as well.
To read and know more about the writer, Vivek Shanbhag, here’s a fine interview.