User:Nikita1990/Mumbai On The Footboard

Mumbai On The Footboard is a 2009 book written by Anish Vyavahare, a psychology graduate and former copywriter at Lintas, Mumbai. This was his debut book. It is a collection of seven short stories based in and on Mumbai, and was number two in DNAs bestsellers list in the fiction group.

Synopsis

Mumbai On the Footboard is a 7 storyed book. It has seven stories, all fiction, but drawing on real events that have happened. The book chronicles events of a very specific time period. It starts just before the 26/11 attacks on the city and goes on to a little after the big elections held in May. It is a chronologically specific book which talks about one of the most eventful periods in the city’s history where there were terrorist attacks, changed governments, creation of martyrs and villains, pressure from the entire country to hang a twenty year old youth who strayed his path and was labeled a terrorist, the opportunism of the media and its insensitivity in handling the terror episode, the Oscar wins and the controversy thereafter, the dance of democracy called elections, the rise of a leader fighting against external invasion of the city and for restoring her Marathi identity with attacks on Bhaiyyas, a battle between the prudes and the liberals over a single day called Valentine’s, etc. All this and more through the eyes of the many people who actually live what people of other cities of the country can only watch on TV channels.

It is a fiction book because, while the things that are portrayed have been 'inspired by real life incidents,' the way that they have been tied up together and narrated has been the imagination of the young author.

Short Film Adaptation

The first story of the book was adapted into a short film named Chinese Whispers, made by Vinay Zende, an ex-army man turned film-maker. It will open in an Australian short film festival.

Reception

The book was well received and got overall positive ratings.

Sangeeta Iyer, associate writer of acclaimed TV serial Fauji said about the book, " This book is a refreshingly different expression of truths that everybody knows but has not seen with the same wise-young eyes... it is a history of everyman and everywoman of Mumbai."

References

http://www.dnaindia.com/lifestyle/report_answers-for-mumbai_1273923

http://www.mid-day.com/news/2009/jul/140709-footpath-bookstalls-Anish-Vyavahare-Footboard-26-11-blasts-elections.htm

http://www.mumbaikar.com/en/blog/post/missmalini/mumbai-on-the-footboard.html

External Links

Crossword

Baneeya

Mumbai Book Store

Flipkart