Sixty-one-year-old Vakola resident Yogesh Murthy is at war with a city builder Dharmesh Shah, who wants to demolish his home to construct a skyscraper in Rajput-Gothic style.
While Shah uses every dirty trick in his book to evict Murthy, the latter does not budge, even when his own son starts singing the builder’s tune in a bid to make a quick buck since his emotional bond with the flat, where his wife and daughter breathed their last, is stronger than the material trappings on offer.
In a redevelopment-obsessed city where the whirring of construction machinery has become part of the ambience, doesn’t this sound uncomfortably familiar?
Well, this slice of life is borrowed from Booker Prize winner Aravind Adiga’s latest novel, Last Man in Tower, which will se an India release by June-end.
We tried to get the reticent writer, who once called Mumbai’s rental market “a bigot’s paradise”, to tell us whether his new work is an attempt at exposing the nexus between builders, politicians and bureaucrats. “I’m afraid I have to pass on this question,” was all he was willing to say. Social activist YP Singh calls the book significant. “Coming in the backdrop of several controversial redevelopment projects which displaced many, this will be an eagerly awaited book,” said the man who is responsible for exposing several housing scams.
He added: “Adiga’s book will lend a dramatic and emotional voice to what is well known and keeps lurking near the surface but never gets told.”
Across the line, Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry president Paras Gundecha seemed curious, but he said he can comment only after he’s read the book. “There may be some developers who use such tricks to vacate tenants. But one cannot generalise,” he nevertheless pointed out.
Another developer preferring anonymity admitted that builders often use threats and even the underworld to remove ‘problematic’ tenants. “Adiga is a very good writer. I am curious to see how he has presented the real estate industry’s side of the story. We’ve got a bad name but not many want to raise the issue of how we are compelled to offer big money to start projects,” he said, and added, “Otherwise, how will we complete our projects? After reading the book, the builder lobby will take a stand on this book and its theme, which seems controversial to begin with.” Controversy did he say? Quick, book your copy now!
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