Manu Joseph
“All a man really wants is to be greater than his friends”- Ayyan Mani’s belief is indeed the theme that runs through ‘Serious Men’ though it manifests in different ways across classes. The jacket pitches the plot as the ramifications of Mani’s efforts to raise himself above his peers by creating the myth of his son’s genius, but the story belongs as much to the scientist Arvind Acharya as well – an eccentric genius heading the Institute where Mani works, and whose contempt for his peers and views about the direction that physics should advance in, make him a target.
The narrative switches between the two characters – from Mani’s first salvo in showcasing his son’s non-existent mental abilities to the office politics at the institute to Oparna’s entry in Arvind’s life and so on. The author fully uses the characters to philosophise, (“Hope is a lapse in concentration“) but it’s woven in excellently and doesn’t jar at all. There is some amazing wit – usually acerbic when Acharya is involved (“I have been inside your mind. It was a short journey“)- as well, and again, in line with the nature of the characters. What I really liked is how the author has fleshed out the characters – not just the main ones, but those in a supporting role as well. Their motivations, their own little quirks, all point to a deep insight on how the human mind works, though it is surfaced in unusual ways.
(What I’d really like, is for this to be made into a movie – Irrfan/Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Ayyan Mani and Anupam Kher/Saurabh Shukla as Arvind Acharya!)
The book succeeds because everything in it is believable and implausible at the same time. Simultaneously fantastic and real! It goes beyond the standard themes offered in the ‘Indian fiction’ genre, and is universal because ultimately it tackles the ‘human condition’ in an utterly unique way. Must read!
