Book Review | Half-Open Windows

Name of the Book: Half-Open Windows

Author: Ganesh Matkari

Translated by Jerry Pinto (from Marathi)

No. of Pages: 194

Publisher: Speaking Tiger (2017), Originally published in Marathi: Samakalin Prakashan (2014)

Genre: Fiction

Price: INR 299

For someone who identifies as a Mumbaikar even before identifying as she/her, Half-Open Windows brought with it a breath of fresh air from Mumbai’s Queen’s Necklace on an unusually hot evening in Bengaluru.

With piping hot chai for company, Jerry Pinto’s translation of Ganesh Matkari’s Khidkya Ardhya Ughadya had fleeting glimpses of the Mumbai I grew up in, which now boasts of high rises riding over the slums. High rises with growing molds of loneliness, overthinking, and the accompanying cost of development that a city must pay. ‘A city intent on forgetting its past, on re-inventing itself.’

With diverse characters – from Joshi kaku (aunt), an elderly woman residing with her cat whose only connections in her building seemed to be Sanika and Shushrut, and that too because their dog chased her cat. Her only conversations with them were probably squabbles because their pets never seemed to get together.

And in parallel, runs Sanika and Shushrut’s story – live-in partners? Yes. Shushrut – the stay-at-home ‘partner’? He had enough of it. So where are they headed? Can upcoming architects pride themselves on their recent success and run the rat race confidently? Or is there a price to pay for that as well?

A slight drawback of this compelling read, according to me, was how each chapter started. It took a while to understand whose perspective was being shared. While it felt totally unconnected in the beginning, tying the loose threads seemed easier towards the end.

“Whether a phone is fixed or cordless or a mobile, there is no way to free oneself from its imperious summons. The changes in technology make no difference. You still have to run after it,” says Joshi kaku. And I could not agree more. Despite the summons, delighted to have found a copy of this at Dr. Gulbanoo Premji Library, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru campus. The delight also seems to be because despite the summons, I could read this and experience bits and pieces of Mumbai over the one week I carried this book along with me.

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