Synopses & Reviews
Abandoned as an infant, ten-year-old Chamdi has spent his entire life in a Bombay orphanage. There he has learned to find solace in his everyday surroundings: the smell of the first rains, the vibrant pinks and reds of the bougainvilleas that blossom in the courtyard, the life-size statue of Jesus, the "beautiful giant," to whom he confides his hopes and fears in the prayer room. Though he rarely ventures outside the orphanage, he entertains an idyllic fantasy of what the city is like - a paradise he calls Kahunsha, "the city of no sadness," where children play cricket in the streets and where people will become one with all the colours known to man.
Chamdis quiet life takes a sudden turn, however, when he learns that the orphanage will be shut down by land developers. He decides that he must run away in search of his long-lost father, taking nothing with him but the blood-stained white cloth he was left in as a baby.
Outside the walls of the orphanage, Chamdi quickly discovers that Bombay is nothing like Kahunsha. The streets are filthy and devoid of colour, and no one shows him an ounce of kindness. Just as hes about to faint from hunger, two seasoned street children offer help: the lovely, sarcastic Guddi and her brother, the charming, scarred, and crippled Sumdi. After their father was crushed by a car before their eyes, the children were left to care for their insane mother and their infant brother. They soon initiate Chamdi into the brutal life of the citys homeless, begging all day and handing over most of his earnings to Anand Bhai, a vicious underworld don who will happily mutilate or kill whoever dares to defy him.
Determined to escape the desperation, filth, and violence of their lives, Guddi and Sumdi recruit Chamdi into their plot to steal from a temple. But when the robbery goes terribly awry, Chamdi finds himself in an even worse situation. The city has erupted in Hindu-Muslim violence and, held in Anand Bhais fierce grip, Chamdi is presented with a choice that threatens to rob him of his innocence forever.
About the Author
Anosh Irani was born and brought up in Bombay, India, and moved to Vancouver in 1998 to become a full-time writer. He is the author of the acclaimed novel
The Cripple and His Talismans. His first full-length play,
The Matka King, premiered at the Arts Club Theatre Company, Vancouver, in 2003. His new play,
Bombay Black, was produced in Toronto in 2006 by Cahoots Theatre Projects and received the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play.
In an interview with The Georgia Straight, Irani discusses how the Zoroastrian Parsi community he lived in was affected by the riots: "One night the Muslims and Hindus had a street fight right outside the gates of our compound. At one point, they wanted to burn down a gas station which was right next to one of the buildings in which people of our colony lived, so people had to beg and say, 'Look, if you burn this gas station down, the buildings will explode. And we are not part of this violence.' Luckily, people listened, which is quite rare."
He goes on to express his admiration for the street children of Bombay and their ability to look beyond their dire circumstances: "A lot of these street children, when you talk to them, they have dreams. They are very poor. They live in grinding conditions, but they have very large dreams: some of them want to become doctors and find cures for diseases; they want to become movie stars, singers, dancers; some want to join the police force and bring about real change. They are all about change, because they know that if they dont hope, if they dont create some kind of dream, survival for them is going to be very difficult."
Reading Group Guide
1. Chamdi develops a unique worldview while growing up in the orphanage: e.g., colours have power; thinking makes things possible; real prayer means sending a bright thought, like
Thank you or
I love you, to heaven…Do you share any of Chamdis beliefs? Did any of his ideas change the way you see the world?
2. Chamdi has never met his mother. Sumdi and Guddis mother is catatonic. All three children have nothing left of their fathers but bloodstains. Anand Bhai, on the other hand, has kind and loving parents. Discuss the role of parents in The Song of Kahunsha.
3. Twice in the story Chamdi is forced to choose between two equally dark outcomes: to become a thief or allow Amma and her infant to starve; to throw a fire bomb into an innocent familys house or allow Guddi to be sold to older men. In these moments, does Chamdi have free will? Has he completely lost his innocence by the end of the novel?
4. "So he made up his mind to achieve something so wonderful that if he were to tell anyone his life story, it would take days to tell, even weeks, and the ending would be a happy one…" Why do you think the author chose to leave the ending of the novel open? Do you think Chamdi will find happiness or will he be suspended forever in a world of poverty and homelessness?
5. The novel is suffused with the sights, sounds, smells and textures of Bombay. Of the many rich sensory details in the novel - both fair and foul - which affected you the most?
6. Anosh Irani has described Bombay as a great teacher and a muse. How does the Bombay depicted in The Song of Kahunsha compare with the view you have of the city through other books, films, or your own travels?
7. Despite its dark subject matter, the novel contains moments of levity. How do the street children use humour to help them cope? How would you describe Sumdis particular brand of humour?
8. As an orphan of unknown parentage, Chamdi belongs to no religious community yet he is sucked into sectarian violence. Discuss the Bombay riots of 1993 as depicted in the novel.
9. "Chamdi cannot understand how Anand Bhai can smile at a time like this." Have you ever encountered a character as evil as Anand Bhai in your readings?
10. Many of the characters in the novel - including Amma and Dabba - are based on people the author saw in Bombay. Does this realization affect your reading the novel? Have you ever been haunted by the sight of a complete stranger?
11. The novel is written in the third person, present tense, from the perspective of its hero in language that has been described as simple and unadorned. Does this voice suit the subject matter? Why or why not? How would the novel be different if, for instance, it were written in the first person?
12. The novel takes place over a five-day period of rioting. What impact does this time span have on the storys pacing? What function dramatic does the prologue serve?
13. Chamdi uses language and imagination to overcome obstacles; Samdi uses his wits and humour; Guddi uses song. Discuss the ways in which the street kids manage not only to survive but also to experience moments of grace and happiness despite their dire circumstances.
14. Most of Iranis characters have experienced loss of some sort - whether of their loved ones, their limbs, their eyesight, or even their sanity. How does loss impact the characters in The Song of Kahunsha?
15. Dabba wants only to live in peace for the remainder of his life. How do you think a limbless and impoverished man might find peace?
16. Does Chamdi still believe in Kahunsha by the end of the novel? Is there something in your own life that plays a role akin to Kahunsha?