Onam in a Nightie: Stories From a Kerala Quarantine - Anjana Menon

 

I came in face to face with this peculiar book (peculiar by its name and cover) as well as its author during the event of MBIFL’23- (about which I have written a separate blog). A ‘chembakam’ tree beneath which sat three exceptional writers - Anita Nair, Anjana Menon, and Manu Bhattathiri, talking about their writings on Kerala, their home away from home. All three of them shared stories about how they tuned their thoughts to words quite unintentionally, yet beautifully.

Anjana Menon, after learning literature, tread through the paths of business journalism and newsroom wars, currently has setup a content strategy agency. When she talked about how her Covid quarantine and associated days forcefully got her out of Delhi and lovingly ‘locked’ her at home in Thrissur, Kerala, it amused me. Further, when she shared that the book ’Onam in a Nightie: Stories From a Kerala Quarantine’ was originally her informal Facebook journals which were then handpicked by Harper Collins India to structure as a book, that inspired me and wanted to take a look into the book itself.

Unsurprisingly the book did not disappoint me. Divided into 2 parts, the first part covered author’s and her brother’s escapade from Delhi just before the Covid surge, entry to Kerala and the 28-days quarantine – first 14 days of room quarantine and then 14 days of home quarantine. The second part throws light on the post-quarantine days with restricted mobility for the family and general happenings around.

What I liked:

-        Organised writing – The literature academe in her working side by side with the passionate business journalist has carefully curated the thoughts and stories into organised lists, jotted down one by one, giving the readers a comfortable order. The author also does responsible narration of many incidents like the Kerala government system in managing the pandemic, deteriorating air quality in Delhi, American elections, Twitter, and ‘reel’ trends, and what not! The language used is in one word – professional. No fancy writings or literary overload.

-        Keen observation – As expected from a journalist, the author showcases unmatched observation skills, wherein she managed to write 19 chapters, all with different themes when confided within the 4 walls of her room and then home during the room/home quarantine period – quite a commendable task.

-        Humane touch – Rather than heartless news piece stories, all 41 articles have a life in them. The all-round help Shivankutty and his faithful dog Rosie, Stella the counsellor and Sajith a volunteer college student misunderstood for a friendly cop, Maya, a Belgian Malinois, a new addition to the Kerala police dog squad, all of them have been portrayed so seamlessly that we feel like we have met them all. Her stories, be it the nostalgic memories from her Kerala holidays or the more recent pandemic infused one or the busy urban life in Delhi, its all relatable.

-        An entire chapter is dedicated to the majestic Swaraj Round or Thrissur Ground and Vadakkunnatha Temple sitting in the middle. Anyone who has been to the place can see it in its entirety, grass by grass, stone by stone, which was a magical experience for me.

 

What I did not like:

Call it me getting softer or wiser I am finding it harder to ‘not like’ a book or even parts of it. One possible reason I suspect is maybe I have become pickier with my books, so I end up liking most of them.  Who knows, going forward I may omit this section.

Having finished the book, I have one regret though, I missed to get it autographed by the author during the event. Next year, if we both are in, I will make the move and let her know how I enjoyed her train of thoughts.

 

In short, a good light read, does not demand full attention, need not follow an order, its okay even if you resume it halfway after a long time, you’ll  be able to pick it up right from where you ended effortlessly. A definite recommendation for long train/bus travels or rainy evening.