Author S.Suresh's Website
Reviews
Reviews of my novel, 'Gharana'
01
Intensity and Readability
Completed reading Suresh's Gharana. It is intense, exploring the questions of art and artists in the backdrop of Hindustani music. Suresh has achieved the amalgamation of intensity and readability in his first novel. My knowledge of technicalities of music is zero. But i was able to enjoy it. And I could connect the characters such as Jafri, Jaffar Ali khan, Mustafa, Nissar Ali Khan to personalities in Tamil literature.
- Suneel Krishnan, Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar Winner on Twitter.
03
An Excellent Read
Just completed reading this. Have read some of the author's short stories in Indian languages earlier, and I think this is his first full length English novel. My reading speed of late has been slow, but I was surprised that I completed reading it in less than 2 days, which definitely had something to do with how well this has been written. I was quite pleasantly surprised that a story like this could be put together in a way that made the novel a page turner.
The story beautifully narrates the history of a Hindustani Gharana from the turn of the earlier century to almost the current day. It is clear that the author has done a good amount of study of how typical Gharanas operate. He clearly portrays the challenges that each of the musicians in the story goes through to find the right Ustad(s) to learn, and the long hours and years of practice before they make a mark in the music scene, some of the inevitable politics and rivalries, and the critical role of some well wishers who are instrumental in the musicians' success. It also shows how there is an inevitable cycle of rise and fall, and the difficulties associated with accepting the decline. It also portrays the conflicts that often arise between the teacher and the disciple and the impact of some of those.
Overall, a really good read, and I heartily recommend this book. Especially musicians and music lovers will be able to relate to this even more.
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02
Left me wanting more
While the book is not a thriller or a fast-paced page-turner, I soon found myself immersed in the worlds of different Hindustani musical families. The story begins with a seven-year-old Chandrakanth embarking on a journey to Bombay, much against his grandmother’s wishes to learn music from the great Chote Ustad, Nissar Khan. From there, the novel takes us through the lives of several music legends across different periods, exploring their egos, temperaments, their rise and fall, and the legacies they left behind. There is love and laughter, heartbreak and disappointment. Even an unsolved murder.
04
Left me wanting more
Gharana is a story of many musicians (Hindustani classical vocalists) across generations and across this vast country. It highlights their beginnings, growth and fading away beautifully, never pausing to pity the character, whose story is told lovingly over many pages by the author up to that point.
In fact there is a matter-of-factly nature narration of the cycle of life which is endearing.
What helps in this engaging non linear or non-binary flow of story is the style of writing. This unique story telling keeps the reader intimately involved in the evolution of lives of the main characters from "their perspective" or "many perspectives".
It travels in time back and forth freely but nowhere is the context and continuity lost. On a turn of a page we would have crossed decades (and a different "I" starts the narration), but the reader would keep pace easily.
Even though the background of the story is Hindustani classical music, it never gets too technical. It unfolds like a Raga or a concert, wherein, different moods and pace of life are experienced over a short time capsule.
Enjoyed the book. It soothed the senses.
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