Khushwant Singh might be four years short of a century, but his worship of ?wine, women and wit? continues unabated and still charms and repulses the average Indian middle class. The hype about his self acclaimed ?last book? aptly named The sunset club has aroused much curiosity. But if one hopes to find a spiritually inclined or maturely different Singh then one is disappointed. It carries Singh?s from cover to cover. It is also an unadulterated example of an honest book written without pretensions.
The book is a delight for the dilliwallah who identifies with the three octogenarians who meet at Delhi?s Lodhi Garden every evening to discuss the entire gamut of life from love , lust, politics, scandals to their distinct religions. They sit on the boorha binch, a bench meant for old people and call themselves the ? The sunset club?, as they sit there in the sunset hour, which symbolises the sunset of their lives and their waning strength.
Meet the club- Pandit Preetam Sharma, Nawab Barkatullah Baig and Sardar Boota Singh. Friends for over 40 years. Sharma is a brahmachari, Baig a modern muslim and the character of Boota Singh has suspicious resemblance to Khushwant Singh
Unfortunately, the story lacks a solid plot. The book seems like a compilation of short stories around the three characters and you can pick up any part of the book and would not feel de-linked. However, every story is gripping and touches sensitive politico- social issues like the Babri Masjid riots, PM Man Mohan Singh being Sonia Gandhi?s pet, the anxiety around elections, the Hindutva party?s reaction to valentines day and the like. In fact it is more like a diary of events.
The theme, if one analyses it, can be divided into two aspects. Firstly, how loneliness bonds the three characters strongly. Secondly, our soul always craves for the same things regardless of age? whether it be a peg of single malt whisky after the evening walk or a recurring erotic fantasy.
The religious and caste conflicts amongst the three keep the reader on his toes and asking for more. Singh has not lost his verve and vivacity. Each tale is wrapped around a different month starting from January and Singh has described how the weather would be in Delhi throughout the year through his poetry. A lover of the capital would relate to his description of the weather and the Lodhi garden, Khan market and the Indian International Center.
Singh?s obsession with sex in the book does not come as a surprise. In fact it is an expected spice. Boota and Baig are colorful men unlike Sharma who is portrayed as a ?Brahamchari?, who often shies away from sexual innuendos. Interestingly, whenever Sharma skips his evening walk, Baig asks Boota to share one of his love making experiences with an English women during his England days. At times, even Boota asks Baig to do the same. Baig comes across as a chauvinist in some incidents, who made love with all women from maids to prostitutes when his Begum was carrying his child and was not in a condition to satisfy his needs.
Singh , typically sees his age as the ideal one for intellectual exploration as at this time one has the leisure to explore and the experience to understand. The author also flaunts his love for Ghalib?s poetry after almost every twenty pages.
The ending is typical and leaves you with a smile. Baig and Sharma leave the sunset club and get ?mukti?. They have a comfortable death. The reader can almost visualise the last scene when Boota sits on the Boorha Binch alone but still full of life and in love with life. He looks at the Bara Gumbad (an old monument) in Lodhi Garden and thinks, ? It does resemble the fully rounded bosom of a young woman.?
I wonder how many Delhites will see the history behind the bara Gumbad and how many will smile at his simile!