Koshy’s capers

Waiting for Jonathan Koshy by Murzban F. Shroff. Published in 2015 by Independent Thinkers, Soona Mansion, 301 Tardeo Road, Bombay 400007. Pp: 186. Price: Rs 295.

After the success of his first collection of short stories, Breathless in Bombay, Murzban Shroff has just published his first novel, Waiting for Jonathan Koshy. In the introduction, the author informs us that the inspiration for the book came to him when he was at his lowest ebb. It will be remembered that Shroff faced criminal prosecution for "disturbing communal harmony” by using the word "ghati” in a story entitled "House of Mine.” The fact that he was at that time researching/writing a novel on the eunuchs of Bombay did not really cheer him up or lighten his mood and he welcomed the arrival of Jonathan Koshy, a man of ideas, full of dreams, wit and effervescence. Hence, it is no surprise that Koshy’s adventures are a bit over the top and occasionally seem ludicrous and unbelievable.
The novel starts at a point in time when Koshy is returning to Bombay from Cochin. He has systematically been skimming money off an actress under the pretext of handling her public relations and, when his fraud is discovered, goons are sent to tackle him. Shroff loses no time in providing us with evidence of Koshy’s resourcefulness and ability to extricate himself from difficult situations. Koshy skilfully discusses the availability of "authentic sources” of marijuana with the goons and escapes serious bodily harm by quietly slipping sample packets "lovingly and generously” into their pockets. He then goes to his friend Anwar’s home at 104 Pali Hill in the posh suburb of Bandra with his leg in a cast only to discard the same some moments later to reveal that he has hidden several packets of weed — enough to get an entire "crowd at a rock concert high.”
The story is told in a series of flashbacks not always in chronological order. Shroff builds up Koshy’s character gradually and projects him not only as a skilful wheeler dealer but also as a sensitive human being who will not place any restrictions on helping a friend in need. When Anwar’s wife Nina is harassed by louts he loses no time in taking Anwar’s dog, Rocky, for a walk and urges him to empty his bladder in two stages, once on the plush car seat of the car owned by the miscreants and later on the legs of one of the boys. When the narrator, who is engaged in advertising, employs Goldie Shukla to meet his clients and entertain them, he does not realize to what extent Shukla would defraud him. When he confides in Koshy about the financial swindle, the latter follows Shukla and gives him a thrashing. When Prashant refuses to pay for ill-performed computer repairs and "collection agents” are sent to ensure that the debt is settled, it is Koshy who sweet talks them and sends them to confront the inefficient and dishonest computer service provider. When a mob comes to Anwar’s home, Koshy once again comes to the rescue and saves the family. His loyalty is not restricted to his friends but to all in need of help, whether it is a sex worker or a young gay boy who wants money for a sex change operation.
But not all of it is fun and games and riding the crest of the wave. There is a sadder side to Koshy and Shroff sensitively shows what it means to be a member of a dysfunctional family.
There is a tendency to include in the novel material that is not strictly relevant. His affection for Bandra is evident: Shroff lovingly calls it the "Queen of Bombay suburbs,” to which he retreats for his "weekly diversions.” But as the deterioration of the suburb is not one of the main or even subsidiary themes of the novel, one wonders why so many pages are needed to describe a setting that does not really further the plot but seems rather extraneous. Shroff lovingly describes the former owners of 104 Pali Hill, Anwar’s parents; but once again this seems a bit of an indulgence as it is not strictly speaking relevant and tends to slow down the pace of the novel.
However, Waiting for Jonathan Koshy is a charming and extremely readable novel. Shroff writes exceedingly well. His style is never flat; the flow of his writing is smooth and even. This in itself is an achievement at a moment in time when so much careless writing and inadequate proofreading parades as fiction. F. G.