The Windfall by Diksha Basu
Anil Jha has a severe case of affluenza.
He is one of a growing breed in modern India, the newly wealthy. “He was pleased that he had more money, and he wanted to travel more and spend more freely. He wanted the new car, the home with a driveway, crystal chandeliers, sparkling water, better shower heads, and softer shoes. He wanted to be a member of a private club. He wanted to get a bidet installed in the master bathroom.” Among the things he has purchased with his new money, a house in the ritzy Delhi district of Guragaon, away from the shabby but close knit community of the Mayur Palli housing complex where he and his family have lived for decades.
Diksha Basu’s debut novel, The Windfall, concerns itself with this new class in India. Lest we think that the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots is an American phenomenon, Basu provides us with an insight into this trend in India today. In this deceptively charming book she digs into some of the challenges new found wealth brings to a marriage, a family and a neighborhood.
As in many cities around the world, real estate is the ultimate symbol of wealth and Delhi is no different. For a more gritty look at the real estate boom and what it does to people you can turn to Aravind Ardiga’s Last Man in Tower, a darker vision of the affluenza that is plaguing modern India.
Bakshu presents a more lighthearted look at the pressures that money puts on all sorts of relationships. A decision that makes this narrative fresh is that Anil Jha has come about his windfall late in life, from the sale of a website. He and his wife have been living a comfortable life, their only son is studying for an MBA in the U.S. so the Jha’s are already somewhere on the higher rungs of society’s ladder. But their newfound wealth allows them to separate themselves from what they know and buy into the trappings of what they think their life should be.
Another fresh note to the book, it is the men of the novel, primarily Mr. Jha and his new neighbor Mr. Chopra (whose wealth is derived from the family business), who are consumed with ostentatious demonstrations of their wealth. There is a humor to their competition and frankly an authenticity to it. Though I am an overseas Indian, I have had a glimpse into the world of the new wealthy and I found Basu’s characters quite believable.
There are the noisy former neighbors, upset that the Jha’s are leaving them to move on up, and curious about how the other half lives. There are the good for nothing sons of the Jha’s and the Chopra’s. Each one flailing and unfocused, given a pass because their wealth provides a cushion (a pass a daughter would never be given). Apparently another measure of wealth, along with a Mercedes, is to let your sons not worry about working because you can support them. There is the garish flamboyance of Mrs. Chopra that is the polar opposite for the newly wealthy Mrs. Jha, whose equilibrium has been upset by the money and the move and how to handle it all.
Basu has a wonderful ear for dialogue, and it is not surprising to me that the book has been optioned for a TV series. There are a host of wonderful side characters, and the story is a look into new India that bucks the trend of the Slumdog vision of rags to riches. This is a book about the middle class who become upper middle class, which is probably why its described as a comedy of manners. But while the book is a breezy and entertaining read, there are some sadder undertones about money, social structure, and adapting to changing times.
This is an immensely engaging book and for those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the economic changes in India, it is a wonderful window into an incredibly changing country.
Before you Read
Length: 292 pages
Genre: Fiction; Comedy
Themes: wealth, class, family, social change
Commitment: An easy read, a book you’ll be glad you spent time with
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