City of Incident by Annie Zaidi is an entrancing novel in twelve parts – interlaced characters and interlinked lives – set in Mumbai: An infectious city that stands on dreams, each corner depicts a facet of character; every street hides an enigma of life.
"Now, he likes to say that he was born free. Free! At least, he was not wrapped in a black plastic bag, knotted tight so that he would choke to death before being discovered by some rag-picker like himself. At least, his mother gave him a chance to live. Who knows? Maybe she had even wanted him to live."
City of Incident is an intimate portrait photograph of ordinary people, yet it tells stories in the most extraordinary way. The basic plot breathes on longing, solitude, and desire – more than that it illustrates the feeling of being dumped, as you are not a legitimate child.
The feeling of being left alone causes an unsolved puzzle to exist between an unmarried girl and the unborn, the feeling of being paralyzed as too much alone time in one’s hand that sits like a heavy-limbed beast – sits on the chest.
City of Incident is a documentation of the complexities of everyday life. With flawed and unsound characters, the author depicts an unconventional observation, for instance,
‘There is something to his posturing, the languor of his backside as he stands on the footboard, one knee bent, the wind in his hair, and his rifle standing in the corner.’
Have you noticed the style of prose? It absorbed me the most – crisp sentences with a clear perspective – minimal words, and short paragraphs as if the author wants you to experience the scene without any cacophony, and that too intentionally.
City of Incident speaks about the dynamics of the relationship and its corrosive nature, how it takes shape and vanishes.
Each section is pretty amazing, still would love to mention the two most adored titles - ‘A Beggar Recalls Babies in Plastic Bags and Makes Furtive Love’ and the other one is ‘A Bank Teller Sees a Happy Baby on the Street, and Wants to Die’ – apart from that, you get a glimpse of few troublesome happenings in a train.
It begins with a security guard and touches various slices including the struggles of a working-class woman in a so-called sophisticated city, underprivileged society, and patriarchy.
Annie Zaidi is a much-needed voice of Indian literature. I wish more readers could get their hands on this stunning novel.
‘So many accidents happen these days. But that word - accident - it belongs to the vocabulary of innocent. For him, there are only incidents. Some incidents are followed by investigations, which are followed by pleadings, cautioning, and offerings. A link chain of unfolding incidents. What was that old song? This city is a city of incident. Yes, that’s just what it is.’