The Inscrutable Americans - Anurag Mathur

Recently I read an article of how a new trend in the world of Indian literature had caught the fancy of the average young minds in the country. The success of Chetan Bhagat led to many young authors muster the courage and come out with their works but the credit for the rise of this SMS generation of young Indian authors with small books of not more than 300 pages and costing as much as a movie ticket would perhaps go to Anurag Mathur and his iconic book "The Inscrutable Americans". 14 reprints and sales of a few million copies down, this book continues to remain the starting point for the young reader. Sure there are authors like Salman Rushdie and Amitav Ghosh, known for their American style of writing with some heavy duty works but for people who might want to unwind after a hard day's work, The Inscrutable Americans has paved the way for what is a refreshing genre of light hearted books.

     

     The Inscrutable Americans has tasted the success for its classic narration of a young man coming of age. The clash of cultures through the eyes of its protagonist Gopal is a hilarious account of how a man from a small village 'Jajau', which according to him is 'The Paris of Madhya Pradesh' discovers America on his trip. While the sexual awakening of Gopal forms the underlying theme of the book, it also lets the reader see America from a different point of view. Americans have for long been considered to be inscrutable (mainly by the Europeans and Asians) for their free 'I care a damn' lifestyles and that is the perception of Gopal which is shattered through his journey in the book.

     The book takes the reader on the adventures of its protagonist and is thought provoking in the way issues like sexual abuse, racial discrimination and cultural notions are tackled through his innocent encounters in America. Every culture has preconceived notions about other cultures either because of prejudice, or basic lack of understanding about the intricacies of others' customs and practices. America is no different, perhaps a little more fortunate, due to its exposure in the world today, but it is not exactly what Sam Mendes portrays in The American Beauty just like India is not the way it is shown to be in a Sooraj Barjatya or Karan Johar movie!

     The Inscrutable Americans is your coffee table book, which really is a nice account of how you should understand and more importantly appreciate the simple things of every culture and how prejudice towards anything makes you realize how stupid you can be. The story might be based on the American culture but the lessons we learn from it are very relevant in our country with its rich culture where we still harbor ill-conceived ideas of every other culture within. The divide between North and South in the country or between West and East is partly due to the game of divide and rule played by our politicians for vested interests (Maharashtra-Bihar and Karnataka-Tamil Nadu off late) but more due to our lack of understanding about our neighbors. 

     This was the first fiction I read as a kid and a lot of the credit goes to Anurag Mathur and later on Chetan Bhagat for keeping the average Indian take up the habit of reading books. Surprising as it may be, but this humorous and light hearted book does tell us to take a serious look at the bright side of things. If Gopal can understand and appreciate the Americans, can't we make an effort to do the same in our very own culture? 
-- Rj