Something Black in the Lentil Soup
By Reshma S Ruia
Published by Black Amber Books
ISBN 1901969142
245 Pages
Reviewed by Lopa Patel
Guide Price £7.99
Rating: (4 flames)
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'Something Black in the Lentil Soup' is one of those phrases that simply do not translate well from Indian into English. Reshma Ruia's delightful novel is set in the 1970's and explores the life of aspiring poet Kavi Naidu.

Pompous Kavi is cosseted by his ambitious mother and lives in relative comfort in a Delhi suburb. His literary musings, which often fall into "rhyming-schmyming'" cadence so beloved by Indians, raise expectations beyond his capabilities. He whiles away afternoon's at Billo's Chaat house in Delhi's Todar Mal Road along with literary friends Sharmila Sharma, Romesh Binoy, Urvashi and Seth. And so would his ambitions have remained if it had not been for his mother. Diminutive in size but a giant in character, Mrs. Naidu encourages her son to self-publish his poems into a slim volume that catches the attention of the Commonwealth Poetry Prize judges.

Within a few short weeks, Kavi is on a plane with fellow contender Seth bound for a plane to England. His mother's contacts at the Nehru Society procure him flight, board and lodging. In London, Kavi finds himself seduced equally by the charms of the city and those of temptress, Mrs. Mistry, the wife of the Indian High Commissioner. She welcomes him into an eclectic circle of friends that include a Roman Catholic priest, some English aristocrats, publishers, a red-haired Australian girl and fellow nominee for the prize, a Tongan poet.

Ruia has a delicious vein of wry humor running through this novel. Kavi embraces London life with an unenviable ineptitude - from reciting his childish poems at a literary luncheon to fainting at his welcome party and wearing a safari "bush" shirt to a formal black tie dinner. Although this novel could have been set in any decade - the 1970's theme quickly disappears after the first chapter and Ruia has an unerring talent for spotting the culture clash. When Kavi is invited to a shooting party at the Lord Weinberg's country house, Lady Weinberg mistakes him for a guru with fortune telling capabilities!

After much hectic socialising, just as it seems that Kavi is in danger of succumbing to illness, his mother arrives to bolster her son's ego and vanquish his enemy, Seth. The latter is a counterfoil to Kavi's bumbling, pot-bellied, 'desi' character. Urbane, suave and sophisticated, Seth is Naidu's nemesis. But Seth is not all that he seems and the commonwealth prize is quickly forgotten as new intrigues emerge.

Ruia's characters are all deeply flawed and so enjoyably human and just when the storyline seems to flag, the author introduces some irrelevant poetry to make the reader laugh. To quote from the book, 'Something Black in the Lentil Soup' is a novel in which "with the rhyming chiming tick tock of time, Naidu reluctantly comes of age".

This disarmingly charming tale of Indian literacy aspirations makes ideal summer reading.

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