Sunday book pick: The fabulous life of a Bombay spinster in Eunice de Souza’s ‘Dangerlok’
Poet Eunice de Souza wrote two novels, ‘Dangerlok’ and ‘Dev and Simran.’ The first is her debut novel.
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“She lies awake listening to the cock crow, and the crows caw, and the clink of bottles as the milkman arrives. It’s a good life, she thinks, all things considered.”
This was my second time reading (primarily poet) Eunice de Souza’s novella Dangerlok. First published in 2001, this is a spicy, racy account of a spinster who shares her flat with her pet parrots in a lively neighbourhood in Mumbai.
Stranger danger
Rina Ferreira is a “jungli” tea-drinking, cigarette-smoking college lecturer who seems to be single by choice. Besides teaching English literature to college students and being a silent bystander in workplace politics, her days are taken up by writing letters to her former lover David and listening to – possibly made up – tales by her bai about the “dangerlok” of Mumbai – all kinds of no-gooders who lurk in the city. Moreover, just about anyone whom the bai finds dangerous, tiresome, or doesn’t like can be a “dangerlok”. It’s a broad category. When she is not busy suspecting those around her, the bai and her family can be found celebrating every festival – religion no bar – and praising the many miracles of Don Boss (otherwise known as Don Bosco).
The bai’s fixation with the dangerlok is...
