{"id":61867,"date":"2013-04-05T15:12:35","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T09:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/test.tehelka.com\/?p=61867"},"modified":"2013-04-05T15:12:35","modified_gmt":"2013-04-05T09:42:35","slug":"designer-dud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/designer-dud\/","title":{"rendered":"Designer Dud"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
Dissecting the elite<\/strong> Shobhaa D\u00e9
Photo: Shailendra Pandey<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nEXPOSING THE<\/strong>\u00a0dark, venal heart of Indian politics,\u00a0Sethji<\/em>\u00a0is an absolutely unputdownable novel about ambition, greed \u2014 and above all, trust.
\nOr so says the blurb at the back. First, Shobhaa D\u00e9\u2019s latest novel is eminently putdownable. The plot is thin, the storytelling is clich\u00e9d and the twists in the tale politely send RSVPs months in advance (generally, they can\u2019t make it). Neither does it expose the \u201cdark, venal heart of Indian politics\u201d. Unless you\u2019ve been living under a rock and didn\u2019t know that Indian politicians aren\u2019t altruistic idealists who wake up every day thinking about what they can do for our country, there\u2019s not much exposed in\u00a0Sethji<\/em>.
\nThe eponymous Sethji is a regional political satrap from Uttar Pradesh (inspired by Sitaram Kesri, says D\u00e9), who is a crucial coalition partner at the Centre. He\u2019s facing a challenge to his position due to corruption charges, compounded by his son raping a Northeastern girl. He wriggles his way out of that situation only to hurtle into another. He and his family are abducted by a Mumbai don backed by powerful commercial interests. Still, he and his trusted daughter-in-law Amrita plot their way out (with all the finesse of a hippopotamus). Defying all logic, it works without a hitch.
\nThe idea of writing a novel about politics in a post-Mandal India is an attractive one. The incredibly complex political spectrum, the bevy of vested interests and the interplay between the two are great fodder for any writer. But this is by no means a political novel. Instead, the novel is something that D\u00e9 is much more comfortable with: a story of rich and powerful people, their quest for more riches and power, and the pressures of being rich and powerful. D\u00e9\u2019s characters are a collage of the brands they use and who they sleep with. \u201cShe changed out of her sari into her comfortable Juicy tracks,\u201d she writes about Amrita going to a crucial meeting, \u201cgrabbed her orange Birkin, slipped her feet into tan-coloured Tod\u2019s loafers, and half-ran towards the garage.\u201d She then expertly drives her brother-in-law\u2019s Lamborghini Murci\u00e9lago to meet the man who will protect her brother-in-law from the police and media. At no point in the entire scene does she reflect on the fact that said brother-in-law is accused of raping a minor; the chapter could just as well have been about a Saturday shopping trip.
\n
\"\"<\/a>
Sethji<\/strong>
Shobhaa D\u00e9<\/em>
Penguin
304 pp; Rs 250<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nFor the rich and famous who inhabit high society, politicians have always been fascinating, alien creatures. They eat at the same five star restaurants, attend many of the same parties, but the fundamental differences in backgrounds means there is little understanding between the two groups of elites. In writing about them, D\u00e9 lazily situates them in familiar surroundings and tries to project familiar personalities. This robs them of what makes politicians such unique literary characters.
\nAjachi Chakrabarti is a Correspondent with Tehelka.<\/em>
\najachi@tehelka.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In her first novel about Indian politics, Shobhaa D\u00e9 finds a new dummy to drape in her well-worn devices, says Ajachi Chakrabarti<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":61874,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21],"tags":[8040,7056,533,8110,6204,8111,7495],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}