As I sit down to pen my thoughts about `A Strange and Sublime Address` by Amit Chaudhuri, I go back down the memory lane, reminiscing my childhood vacations that we spent at our grandfather’s place where all of us cousins would have the best times of our lives.
Sandeep, an only child living in a Bombay, comes with his mother to his maternal uncle’s house to spend his vacations with his cousins Abhi and Babla. This book has a mention of two such vacations one and a half year apart, one in the summers and one in the winters of the following year. The way the kids spend their time in the summer vacation, looking at the pigeons, watching the passers by, sitting on the balcony, looking at the palm tree in the neighborhood reflects how innocent childhood is. The story has been narrated in a very descriptive manner and some of the scenes can actually be visualised. I really enjoyed this part of the book.
Nine short stories follow the main book. These stories are very different in nature and essence from the main book and most of them, actually all except one leave the reader expecting more out of the story as they end abruptly.
Book Source: Bought
Publisher: Penguin
Metro Reader 