Gossip sells - juicier it is, the more is the return. And that is exactly how the short stories spooned in Vikram Karve’s debut anthology, "Cocktail, Short Stories about relationships" reads like - scandals and scoops off page 3!
And relationship it is .
There’s this couple parting ways to make fresh starts with new life partners and don’t know what to do with their son born out of their broken marriage. So they pack him off to Boarding School because neither of them wish to have him as a "parting gift". There is a spoof on ’distance’ marriage wherein the man and the wife make it a point to exchange sugar coated conversations over phone, as a daily routine, while hanging on to their respective lovers’ arms. Karve’s sarcastic retort "After all, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush" justifies adultery with a nonchalance which is the order of the day.
In "Every Dog Has His Day", the protagonist hoodwinks his friend to have a wild night with his wife. In "The Opposite Of Love" a constantly bickering couple, at the end of the day, realize that opposite of love is not hatred but indifference. In "Break Up", a Double-Income-No-Kids marriage is saved by the presence of a pet. In "Electrophoresis", Moushumi undergoes psycho-cybernetic mind transference with the aid of a former nerd class mate to experience what it would be like to be her once-upon-a-time-close-friend-but-now-very-much-married Anand’s wife. In the "Miscalculation", the wife meticulously plans to kill her husband to unite with her lover. In "Freedom" a lonely, neglected wife breaks even with her husband and daughter by running away to far flung locales to do as she wishes.
The young widow Kavita and Deepak want to get married. Deepak is ready to take Kavita’s daughter under his fold but does not want the baggage of an old mother-in-law. Kavita and her daughter are very attached to the old lady who does not have any other kith and kin to take care of her. Kavita feels guilty leaving her mother-in-law alone. But what will she do if her new found partner does not want to shoulder additional responsibility? Karve brings up situations which are of today, and perhaps irresolvable too, given the constraints of modern living.
In "Cocktail", there is a’Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam’ like situation, wherein in order to save her marriage, Sadhana takes to alcohol. In "Chilled Beer" Ajay arranges a’normal death’ for his neighbour, Anjali’s husband, like he had done once before to do away with his first wife. The successful engineering of his plans, puts his "brain.into a tizzy.The possibilities were endless." And now his target is his new wife, Anjali. Karve’s plots are quirky. One wonders whether they are picks from life or purely fictional. As one moves from one story to the other, in this collection of twenty seven short stories, it becomes difficult to make out if the world we are born into is as livable as we think it is.
Nalini catches her husband red handed having an affair with her best friend. And when Dilip, her ex-flame walks into her life, she does not blink twice to give Sanjay, her husband, the impression that she is having an affair too. Menaka seduces her colleague to steal a file containing top official secrets. Ashamed he resigns from the job. Five years later she again seduces him for another personal gain.
Vijay learns that Manisha, his childhood buddy and now fiance, is having an affair with his boss. Though Vijay feels that she is not his type, he is still disturbed by the way he has been treated. However, the frustration does not last long as Vijay bumps into Vidhi, his boss’ wife, and falls head over heels in love with her.
These, and many more snippets like these, set the mood of the book called "Cocktail". Karve is an IITian and ex-naval officer. Impressed by his avid blogging, I had picked up this book off Flipkart. At times, smothered by an overdose of moral turpitude, the book looks into the contemporary social scenario with its plethora of fickle relationships – extra marital flings, one-night stands, wife-swapping, distant hollow marriages, double crossing, post-separation/divorce dilemma, “socially valuable” marriages, sexcapades in workplace, you name it and Karve has an anecdote to relate. Definitely cringe-worthy but not completely incredible as we do unfortunately hear about and witness such social aberrations around us. Much touted by Balaji Telefilms, the all encompassing moral degradation in our society, that people from the old school shake their heads and cluck their tongues about, has set the trend for gen now. The stink of the social rot is strong enough to demand urgent sanitization. But is everything lost? Is there nothing to pin our hopes on? One shudders to think what the future may hold if calamity has already brought in irreparable doom. Yet the optimists would like to rely on dreams of a glorious tomorrow deeply entrenched in moral values, fraternal bonds and unflinching fidelity not only between individuals but to the society as a whole. Vikram Karve narrates his stories with undeniable chutzpah. It’s the reader’s choice how to take it - with a pinch of salt or skepticism!
Okay for a one time read.