This book was originally published in 2004 under the title "These Foolish Things". It was adapted into a movie titled "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" in 2011. The book that I read was published by Vintage Books in 2012. I haven't seen the movie so I shouldn't really compare the two. However, from what little I have glimpsed in the trailers and IMDB, I understand that the movie does not really follow the book entirely. So I don't understand why should the title (and the cover page) be according to the movie. Personally I liked the original title better.
A tinkling piano in the next apartment
Those stumbling words that told you what my heart meant
A fairground's painted swings
These foolish things remind me of you
A group of old people are bundled together by fate to journey to a place that was once ruled by their forefathers. You might think there is little to write in the lives of a bunch of ignored, forgotten, unwanted, inconvenient people who are waiting to get past their twilight years, but Deborah Moggach does not think so. In fact throughout the book, she goes on to find so many interesting stories for each of these characters that one might start finding his or her life quite uninteresting in comparison.
The first chapter introduces us to the predicament of an old girl in her seventies - Muriel Donnely and the collapse of the British Health System. We are also introduced to Dr. Ravi Kumar who will later inspire the foundation of the The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. We move on to know more about the aging Britishers. While Muriel's situation solicits regret and compassion, Ravi's obnoxious father-in-law, Norman Purse exacts nothing less than dislike and disgust. It is the hope to get rid of Norman in a country that boasts of respect for elders, that inspires the idea of a pensioner's home in a little corner of Bangalore that will forever remain England.
In the first few chapters, we come across the elderly crew - Evelyn who thought the idea of moving to India as preposterous; Muriel who wouldn't let any 'darkies' treat or touch her; Dorothy, a retired BBC executive, Douglas and Jean, the happily married, traveling couple. And so the story begins. The first batch of the residents, united only by their similarity in age start a new life in the Pensioner's Paradise of India. A life that held promises of a charming city, pleasant climate, timeless beauty, a handsome doctor to care for you and a comfortable stay with people who always wait on you. But in India, such promises seemed to evaporate. At least some of them, if not all.
As the story progresses, we come across the secrets that define each character. Why did Evelyn share a complicated relationship with Theresa, her daughter? What was secret behind Jean and Douggie's 'happy' married life. What was the reason behind Dorothy's senility? Why would Muriel who so religiously hates the 'darkies' mold herself into the Indian mysticism. Why had Keith abandoned his loved mother? What did Theresa search among the swamis of India? How little they knew of each other. By the time we reach the end we have celebrated love and friendship and commiserated death and separation as well. Of course, I would have wanted the book to have ended a few pages before so that it retained realistic charm and not moved to fairytale-ish end.
And yet, I cannot deny that this poignant book raised some very important questions that we tend to overlook - be it the abandonment of the old or soul-searching of the youth. I particularly liked that India was not seen in the typical romanticized view that we find so often in books by foreign writers. While the poverty and mysticism of India was not entirely denied, the different side of a modern and ordinary India was also touched. A pleasant read throughout, "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" brings to us many thought-provoking issues limited neither by age nor nationality. It is not one but several thoughtful, realistic and vibrant stories weaved into a witty and humane tale of ordinary people with ordinary lives and told in an extraordinary way. Still, I would have wanted to read the original title and without the movie cover.
[Book Review by Ankita Mukherjee]
