Manasarovar by Ashokamitran, translated from Tamil by N. Kalyan Raman, is the story of a friendship between a Hindi filmstar Satyan Kumar, and a Tamil screenwriter, Gopalan. The two have much in common as far as the arts are concerned, both like Dr Zhivago, and writers like Nathaniel West.
Gopalan's wife, Jambagam, is a mentally disturbed woman, who reacts viciously when her husband is around. When Raja, their teenaged son, comes down with a mysterious fever, and Jagadamba becomes violent, Gopalan ties her up and then goes in search of a doctor. He returns to find his son dead with a pillow on his face.
Satyan, who had come to Bombay from Peshawar with just Rs.50 in his pocket is lonely in the midst of hangers-on living with him. Money cannot give him the genuine friendship he longs for.
The author employs the device of first person narratives by Satyan and Gopalan in alternate chapters. N. Kalyan Raman has been faithful to the original.
Penguin Books India
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