Title ERRATICA Author BACHI KARKARIA Source India Book Distributors Price Rs. 225/-

Reviewed by Darshana.D.

Do you have a penchant for pun? Care to have an insight into an issue as the word-play tickles your funny bone? Then, pick up Erratica, which is a compilation of Bachi Karkaria's columns published in the Sunday Times of India.

Incidentally, the word Erratica, jumped into Karkaria's head as she drove down to work thinking of a name for a new column way back in 1992. For the regular readers who are already hooked on to her Sunday columns, the book is a collector's item.

Playing with words, undoubtedly, is Bachi's forte. That, combined with insightful observations on a spectrum of timeless issues is what makes these words published in a newspaper an eternal work of art. A foreword by Amitabh Bachchan in which he says - "It is a marvel how she splits nouns, verbs, participles and takes you into a new lingo of her own. After reading Bachi's Karkaria-isms I often wonder, `How does she do it?'

A run through some of the interesting titles which run as - Mama, a mian in my murgh, Mother Shobha & Teresa De, Gere & Brake in Brothelpura, 'Con banega multicrorepati,' reflect Bachi's bent of mind in breaking words. Her writing style is a gourmet's delight to the connoisseur of words. Consider the interesting interplay of words when she writes about 'the boy who grows up '. She begins by saying 'after the acne, the ecstasy'. Her ability to use appropriate words in a novel way and turning an ordinary issue into an extraordinary piece of expression is what sets her apart as a writer.

The book is divided in different sections namely - Family & friends, Media, People, Places, Life, Food and Politics. She has handled the issues ranging from mundane to exotic with such an élan that the reader is sure to get clued to the book. One gets to read about personalities in a different light. And Bachi has not spared anyone from the Big B to Balasaheb, Shobha De or Sonia Gandhi.

Reading her old columns does bring back memories from the past especially for readers who are glued on to current events and happening. If reading about Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky episode in 'Let sleeping presidents lie' bring back memories of that frenzied phase then her farewell notes written for her friends Protima Bedi and Behram Contractor definitely strike a chord.

'Gere & brake in Brothelpura' incidentally is my favourite and it's a laughter riot through and through. Here, the author recollects how she 'hurled into the squeeze of celebrities and other star-activists like Shabana Azmi embarking on that expedition to the red light district with Richard Gere. And how ' I kept up my questioning, reminding myself that I haven't come here just to rub knees with Richard.'

That is Bachi in Erratica!


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