Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, Author: Kiran Desai

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is Kiran Desai's first book, published in 1998. The novel chronicles the robust, yet spiritual relationship between man and his closest relatives from the animal kingdom, the monkey, securing both to a lofty place juxtaposed between modern India and old traditional practices. Home to many religious groups, including Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jains and Sikhs, India has been used as a platform to combine the elements of traditions and history while figuratively meandering through a trail of fantasy and realism. 

A mesmerising novel, set in the fictitious Indian village of Shahkot, it details the chaotic life, the family members and surroundings of an underachieving protagonist who decides to abandon the 'normal' world with its comforts of home for a branch atop a Guava tree. The style of writing certainly falls under the umbrella of Magical Realism, made famous by authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salman Rushdie, among others.  

Our protagonist, Sampath Chawla was born in a time of severe drought that ended with the advent of the much welcomed monsoon on the night of his birth. All signs being auspicious, the villagers wholeheartedly assured Sampath's (whose name meant Good Fortune) proud parents that their son was destined to greatness.

Fast forward another twenty years and we find out things did not turn out exactly as planned. Instead, we find Sampath, is a morose government postal worker who is dull and nonchalant, only inspired when in search of a quiet place to take his nap. His father loses all faith in him, except his grandmother who says " But the world is round, wait and see. Even if it appears he is going downhill, he will come up the other side. Yes, on top of the world. He is just taking a longer route ". No one believes her until, one day Sampath abandons his home and climbs on top of a guava tree and becomes unintentionally famous as a holy man, known far and wide as the Hermit of Shahkot, setting off a series of events that spin increasingly out of control. This is where Desai's mastery over her penmanship becomes evident. She arms Sampath with these wonderful anecdotes and adages that tickle the reader's imagination. He is a visionary blessed with an uncanny ability to read any individual. Truth is, his position as postal clerk gave him the opportunity to read all incoming mail and that knowledge had endowed him with what seems like the power of reading people's minds with unfathomable wisdom.

The book also looks into the wonderful, whimsical, yet everyday status we give to various characters we pass by in our lives. For instance, Desai talks about the ideal characteristics of a daughter in law - comical but something we can all relate to. 

The writer also touches on the subject of commercializing religion and spirituality, the sort we see every day in temples, shrines, ashrams, etc. Desai adds literal meaning to the term MONKEY BUSINESS, when Mr. Chawla, Sampath's entrepreneur father, opens a bank account for a proposed temple to which the devotees could donate. He approaches merchants to put up ads in the orchard. He also sells garlands and fruit to pilgrims, then collects them and sells them again. Buses make detours so passengers can visit the new Baba in the tree while they buy his photographs. Sampath's grandmother even operates a tea stall where business is brisk and fast paced.

The novel then takes an interesting twist. The monkeys that share the Guava tree with Sampath, develop a taste for liquor and become a growing public nuisance when they become drunk. When they turn into alcoholics, they attack anyone carrying liquor, in one case, even breaking into a club and ransacking the bar ! The rest of the novel is how the villagers find interesting ways to get rid of the monkeys much to Sampath's chagrin. Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard is a delightful off the beaten path kind of comic novel that ends in a surprise twist (sorry, don't want to give it away).

The reviewer is IGCSE & Development Coordinator, Pledge Harbor Intl. School