In the fictional suburb of Bandargaon, tucked away in Bombay, there's never a quiet moment. Dreams erupt, hopes shatter, in the heaving Sunrise Apartments, by a rickety tea- cart - Jinias Chai Hause, inside a seedy Jaanam Desi Bar, and by the dilapidated Purana Qila . Chagan, the dashing hero, who shines like a film-star, spends hours wooing a beauteous Shalini. Shalini, ever fickle, oscillates between him and a pining Vinayak. Vinayak, in turn, tries desperately to win the favour of Shalini's mother, Lakshmibai. Elsewhere, the local politician, Sajjanpur, tries winning an impossible election; Miranda, a sullen mortician, seeks answers from an ailing priest; and Sultan, the irascible grocer contend s with an over friendly dog. Reminiscent of R. K. Narayan's Malgudi Days, Tamasha in Bandargaon, with its interlinked stories, with its effortless dialogue and wry humour, is at once enriching and entertaining. In the young debut writer's imaginary world, there's sound, fury, and the distant glimmer of hope.
