Book suggestions #0 | Prologue | by godknowswho.
The book is here. She smells like guruvayoor-narangamuttayi* in A/C. Or like the Rasna** drink powder that I desired a lot in my childhood. I remember my father bringing a fiber-optic contraption that spread little dots of light in the semi-dark room, when I was lying beside my mother, very early in the night. My father had just got back from work, and I was so angry and sad and longing for the magic towel that came with the Rasna drink. My father and mother, both angels, told me that there is a world behind the advertisements, which I never thought would exist. I didn’t believe them. I cried a lot. They told me stories about people who went looking for freebies and got nothing.
I open the book and take a deep breath from her virgin pages. It reminds me of narangamuttayis and some other soft drink powders. Then I smell her again and again, and this image comes to my mind, clear as anything. I start to write it down and I cry hard. I don’t remember crying like this for a long time. I cry hard. Then, I complete typing this, my hands shaking. Thank you for everything.
This will be my Madeleine cake.
What is yours?
*Narangamuttayi / Lemon Candies (pronounced ‘Naarangaamuttaayi’/ask your malayali friend) are lemon lozenges, knock-off sweets made with sugar and godknowswhat. They come in candle-sealed plastic packets which the author by his/her existence testifies, contrary to what is thought, are safe to store food. Guruvayoor because the author and his/her brother love the guruvayoor trips and the lemon lozenges that mark the end of their stay (at times in A/C rooms).
If you feel like eating narangamuttayis, a makeshift shop outside Himalaya sells them around dinner time. Ask someone.
**Rasna was (I don’t know whether they are still available) a powder which could make orange flavored soft drinks. Rasna is similar to Tang. They used to give free magic towels with the product as freebies, some eleven or so years ago. I don’t remember what magic they did. Probably it was in the line of making figures appear when heated.
This marks the start of book suggestion columns from Article19. The first book will be probably a Russian writer’s book where he writes letters not about love. Or a Prague-born poet’s only (anti)-novel. Who knows?
Article 19 