Chennai Latte – A Madras Brew
Ranjitha Ashok, Biswajith Balasubramaniam
This book deals with everything a Chennaiite goes through in his day, from the moment he wakes to the time he hits the sack. From the pot holes he maneuvers and festivals he feverishly celebrates. A day in the life of Chennaiite is not easy, be it receiving a long lost distant cousin flying for a visit from the US or standing in queue to visit an American aunt, the die hard spirit he holds while standing in the queue in front of the American Emabssy in the questionable hours of the morning with a picnic basket, has been brought about with a dry sense of humour that is so close to a Chennaiite’s heart. The true ability of a Chennaiite to laugh at himself at the end of the day while he can carefully wriggle himself out from the tough clasps of a cop, is so well brought about by the duo Ranjitha and Biswajith.
The degree or the meter coffee that runs in the blood and sweat of every Chennaiite has seen many a musing from the works of even great writers like R K Narayan and this only adds a natural flavour to this book and will make any work about Chennai incomplete without the mention of the filter coffee and the ‘davara-tumbler’. The book also reminds me so much of the RK Narayan and RK Laxman, the delighful duo who mesmerised the readers tempering the book with wit and humour through writing and illustration. Do not miss the minute caption every illustration holds.
A book that can only be written so fascinatingly by a writer who has spent a great deal of her life going with the unstopping motions of the city. The language I wouldn’t call it simple but feels like straight out of my grandfather’s journal. I had to re read in a couple of places to understand the subtleties of her writing. I am not surprised by the use of such language that has always been so close to any well read Chennaiite who can put to shame a native English speaker.
A must read for anyone who has been so close to Chennai and woken up to smell the filter coffee .
