Sherlock
SHERLOCK: M T VASUDEVAN NAIR
M T Vasudevan Nair, a celebrated presence in the literary and cultural scenario of Kerala, is a genius
who excels in different genres of writing. A well-known Indian author, screenplay writer and film
director, his stories are often subversive and tend to make the reader think from a different
perspective. According to M T, a writer’s primary duty is to create moral awareness against the evils in
the contemporary society.
Sherlock is undoubtedly one among MT Vasudevan Nair's most crafty creations. It sticks to the notion
of the modernist short story, be it its choice of themes or the meandering narrative structure. The
story, despite its title, Sherlock, remains locked up in mystery and does not make for an easy
interpretation.
Alienation, personal and cultural, following from a forced spatial relocation or disorientation to the USA
in the 1990s from an Indian idyllic scenario forms the setting for the story. Set in the early 1990s, this
story helps one relive the changes that happened in our own society in the 2000s and the 2010s- the
machine that releases money upon insertion of a card, cars outnumbering the men on the streets, and
the supermarket culture. Yearning for a lost family and cultural values lies at the centre of the
narrative as the characters struggle with broken or dysfunctional social bonds. The drastic
transformation from an idyllic life in a kerala village without a washroom to the urban spaces of the US
city takes its toll and leaves the characters high and dry. It often reminds us of a mousetrap without an
exit. The trapped lives are doomed to spend their lives in pain, may be cursing their fate.
Balu, a "highly qualified" Malayali youth is dragged into this cultural mess as his sister (chechi) needs
support and company in America. Once an alcoholic and chain smoker , he was forced to go to his
sister to make changes in his wayward life at the age of 27. His sister’s former husband Kumarettan
had issues coping with the fast life in the US and left her for good. Kumarettan now serves as a
Professor in one of the colleges back home. Her new partner, a North Indian engineer, Jayant Shinde
seems to care little for her and he is always "busy" with his work in another city and seldom visits her.
Here M T focuses on broken family ties.
Sherlock, a strange cat is the only presence that breaks monotony in Chechi's apartment. As she
leaves for work, Balu needs to negotiate its menacing presence. Initially, Balu finds the cat disgusting,
too interfering with his affairs. It seems to have a strange knack for espionage. It spies on Balu and
even reads his mind. It stands for the snoopy and secretive Big Brother US administration. Balu
gradually gets used to this larger than life creature and its strange ways. Finally, a deal is struck and
the ice is broken between the two over a bottle of vodka. A new camaraderie emerges and Balu feels
relieved. But in the end, he realises with a shock that Sherlock’s claws, earlier removed through
surgery, had returned making him indomitable. Sherlock could symbolise the alien American culture
that needs to be tamed, yet cannot be fully tamed like a cat. American culture with its monstrous
secretive claws seems to enchant Balu. Sherlock also symbolically stands for death, the ultimate
ridder of all mysteries and like Sherlock Holmes, the cat Sherlock is able to end all mysteries of life.
Much of the story is about the interaction with the non-human in moments of extreme alienation
within a human society. The loss of human communication seems to open new channels of internal
communication and Balu seems to grow "wiser" by the time the story ends. With all the materialistic
luxury, comfort and convenience, Life in U. S. is a mouse trap or a prison, at least for an Indian,
especially for a Keralite, whose mind always wants to be soothed by what the tradition offers. The
protoganist, suffocated by the feeings of alienation, rather wisely decides to return to the solace of the
mother land. The story ends enigmatically with the writer leaving the reader to grapple with the
meaning of the story.
http://malayalamliteraturereview.blogspot.com/2017/03/sherleck-by-mt-vasudevan-nair-close.html
M T Vasudevan Nair, a celebrated presence in the literary and cultural scenario of Kerala, is a genius
who excels in different genres of writing. A well-known Indian author, screenplay writer and film
director, his stories are often subversive and tend to make the reader think from a different
perspective. According to M T, a writer’s primary duty is to create moral awareness against the evils in
the contemporary society.
Sherlock is undoubtedly one among MT Vasudevan Nair's most crafty creations. It sticks to the notion
of the modernist short story, be it its choice of themes or the meandering narrative structure. The
story, despite its title, Sherlock, remains locked up in mystery and does not make for an easy
interpretation.
Alienation, personal and cultural, following from a forced spatial relocation or disorientation to the USA
in the 1990s from an Indian idyllic scenario forms the setting for the story. Set in the early 1990s, this
story helps one relive the changes that happened in our own society in the 2000s and the 2010s- the
machine that releases money upon insertion of a card, cars outnumbering the men on the streets, and
the supermarket culture. Yearning for a lost family and cultural values lies at the centre of the
narrative as the characters struggle with broken or dysfunctional social bonds. The drastic
transformation from an idyllic life in a kerala village without a washroom to the urban spaces of the US
city takes its toll and leaves the characters high and dry. It often reminds us of a mousetrap without an
exit. The trapped lives are doomed to spend their lives in pain, may be cursing their fate.
Balu, a "highly qualified" Malayali youth is dragged into this cultural mess as his sister (chechi) needs
support and company in America. Once an alcoholic and chain smoker , he was forced to go to his
sister to make changes in his wayward life at the age of 27. His sister’s former husband Kumarettan
had issues coping with the fast life in the US and left her for good. Kumarettan now serves as a
Professor in one of the colleges back home. Her new partner, a North Indian engineer, Jayant Shinde
seems to care little for her and he is always "busy" with his work in another city and seldom visits her.
Here M T focuses on broken family ties.
Sherlock, a strange cat is the only presence that breaks monotony in Chechi's apartment. As she
leaves for work, Balu needs to negotiate its menacing presence. Initially, Balu finds the cat disgusting,
too interfering with his affairs. It seems to have a strange knack for espionage. It spies on Balu and
even reads his mind. It stands for the snoopy and secretive Big Brother US administration. Balu
gradually gets used to this larger than life creature and its strange ways. Finally, a deal is struck and
the ice is broken between the two over a bottle of vodka. A new camaraderie emerges and Balu feels
relieved. But in the end, he realises with a shock that Sherlock’s claws, earlier removed through
surgery, had returned making him indomitable. Sherlock could symbolise the alien American culture
that needs to be tamed, yet cannot be fully tamed like a cat. American culture with its monstrous
secretive claws seems to enchant Balu. Sherlock also symbolically stands for death, the ultimate
ridder of all mysteries and like Sherlock Holmes, the cat Sherlock is able to end all mysteries of life.
Much of the story is about the interaction with the non-human in moments of extreme alienation
within a human society. The loss of human communication seems to open new channels of internal
communication and Balu seems to grow "wiser" by the time the story ends. With all the materialistic
luxury, comfort and convenience, Life in U. S. is a mouse trap or a prison, at least for an Indian,
especially for a Keralite, whose mind always wants to be soothed by what the tradition offers. The
protoganist, suffocated by the feeings of alienation, rather wisely decides to return to the solace of the
mother land. The story ends enigmatically with the writer leaving the reader to grapple with the
meaning of the story.
http://malayalamliteraturereview.blogspot.com/2017/03/sherleck-by-mt-vasudevan-nair-close.html
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