Hee Hee! He Said “Bhenchod!”

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Beneath the horrendous headline “Gangsta Raj,” New York Times reviewer Paul Gray opens his treatment of Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games with the kind of snark that will dissuade anyone who only reads the first paragraph from buying the book:

This immense, demanding novel can be recommended, with scarcely a cavil, to well-educated Indians who have lots of free time, are fluent in (at the very least) English and Hindi, and have a thorough knowledge of South Asian politics; Hindu, Muslim and Sikh religious practices; and the stars and story lines of hundreds of Bollywood films. Longtime Bombay residents will have an extra advantage, since they will know, without consulting a gazeteer or Google, why the city is now called Mumbai. Prospective readers who donÂ’t fit this profile will have some catching up to do.

In the end, it’s a positive review, though the term “damning with faint praise” sure came to my mind several times as I went through it. And do the Gray Lady’s editors know they just printed the words sisterfucker and motherfucker?

So it goes here. Those who plunge into the novel soon find themselves thrashing in a sea of words (“nullah,” “ganwars,” “bigha,” “lodu,” “bhenchod,” “tapori,” “maderchod”) and sentences (“On Maganchand Road the thela-wallahs already had their fruit piled high, and the fishsellers were laying out bangda and bombil and paaplet on their slabs”) unencumbered by italics or explication.

Seriously though, I still haven’t read the book (the US edition comes out this week, hence the review) but one thing I appreciated about Chandra’s last book, the amazing collection Love and Longing in Bombay, is precisely how he manages to introduce large amounts of local color and vocabulary in ways that connect even if you don’t know what exactly every term means. Surely the review could have taken a more productive approach than to lead with this literalist harping?

108 thoughts on “Hee Hee! He Said “Bhenchod!””

  1. Oh brother, put the fatwa on me! Don’t take it personal —> lesson one —> NEVER take literary prejudice or joust-about personally.

    Lesson number two: without passion, you’re among the living as one already dead.

    Nah, who am I kidding, you’re right. Trust me, I lose no sleep whatsoever on your taste in literature which–one or two sweeping generalizations apart–seems alright.

  3. And if those writers weren’t spending enough time to your liking criticising the Vietnam war, it’s because they had other fights closer to them, often immediately threatening to their own livelihoods, sometimes lives. To refer to another great writer, America is large: it contains multitudes. When you come visit I’ll show you.

    I know, Faulkner, Ellison, Baldwin, even later Roth, are all examples of American writers answering back to the American mythos and the projected national narrative. As I said, I was being deliberately provocative and enjoying playing the pompous protestor. I just wish we could see more writers from that tradition emerge now.

  4. Sacred Games is an amazing yarn, wah, this guy has an eye for detail! It’s well worth the wait (I remember him reading the opening chapter at a party in 1998).

    Vikram Chandra’s website has a massive – and comprehensive – glossary from the book online.

    If you find a word they missed, you send an email for them to add it.

    One funny note: his entry in Wikipedia says “…is an emerging writer”.

    I already think he’s fully emerged, and with Sacred Games, definitely.

  5. Re: American Writers

    Los Broz Hernandez, sez I. I know funny papers fly below everyone’s radar, but the brothers even ended up on Salon’s 100 American Writers list. Not that I think much of that list, but some lit props are better than none.

  7. I received an ARC of Sacred Games and decided to dive in. I am more than half way through and want to say — the Times review (yes, including the first para) is dead on. And I thought the review was overall, quite positive. If you think this is bad, just pray Michiko Kakutani doesn’t get her hands on the book!

  8. You Know Me —

    There are no great American writers? That’s simply absurd. Baldwin, Roth, Melville, Shepard, Faulkner, Hemingway, Morrisson, Chomsky…

    BTW, La Fiesta del Chivo (Feast of the Goat) wasn’t very accurate — as many Dominicans will tell you. Perhaps Dominicans should write their own history instead of Peruvians doing it for them. And it’s better in Spanish than in translation.

    Who are you criticizing when you speak about America? It would be help to know. Criticizing American foreign policy? Do the same for India then when you speak of Indian writers.

  9. you would think at least one or two writers might have emerged to try and explain the dissonance between America and the rest of the world.

    Paul Bowles

  10. Where are you, Madna?

    I wonder if anyone else will catch the reference? I wonder when the Enlgish, August movie will be released in the US

  12. BTW, La Fiesta del Chivo (Feast of the Goat) wasn’t very accurate — as many Dominicans will tell you. Perhaps Dominicans should write their own history instead of Peruvians doing it for them

    Oh accuracy-schmacuracy, it’s a novel not a work of non fiction

    And it’s better in Spanish than in translation

    Most things are better in the original.

  13. hey, this is really intriguing

    If I look around today, and ask the question of who’s truly great (and still alive) in the world of literature, there’s no rhyme of reason to where they are from: Colombia, Ireland, USA, Sweden, South Africa, England, Poland, St Lucia.

    who are these writers?

  14. There’s a glossary! Why is Gray complaining?

    I do think, though, that to throw hindi words in willy nilly and provide no explanation whatsoever, might be a bit difficult to digest for gora audiences – and that’s understandable! For example, I seem to recall that Meera Syal’s “Life isn’t all ha ha hee hee” had no italicization and no glossary, and I remember thinking that if I didn’t know what ‘buche’ etc meant, this would be a very annoying book.

    Re: the great american writer debate – if poets are being considered, Edna St Vincent Millay’s work is just lovely.

  18. <

    blockquote>And do the Gray LadyÂ’s editors know they just printed the words sisterfucker and motherfucker?

    Probably not and someone should write a letter to the editor letting them know :). Also, Publishers’ Weekly also printed the same: “[Chandra] takes his chances creating atmosphere: the characters speak in the slang of the city (“You bhenchod sleepy son of maderchod Kumbhkaran,” Gaitonde chastises). ” [link].

  19. I think the Times lets some swear words get by if they are quotes from valid/literary sources and especially if they are foreign words. I know I’ve seen the word merde printed before.

    The book sounds really good. He’s a huge talent. I read Red Earth and Pouring Rain recently, and was blown away by what he managed to pull off. At the same time, he seemed a little entranced by juggling the narrative threads and swtiching writing styles and framing the tales and whatnot and the whole thing was a little exhausting and pointless for the reader. Haven’t read Love and Longing so maybe he’s really learned to control what is, again, an undisputable talent.

    you would think at least one or two writers might have emerged to try and explain the dissonance between America and the rest of the world.

    Nell Freudenberger. She’s very young but she gives it a shot.

  20. Paul Gray walked into his editor’s office. “What’s up?” he queried. “Well your article lists some of the words from the book that aren’t in English…” his editor rifled through the review “…ah, like bhenchod and maderchod.” “Sure.” “Do you know what they mean?” “Psh. No. Does it matter?” “Maybe we should find out before we print the article.” Paul exhaled and rubbed his forehead for a minute. “How about we ask that kid who gets us coffee?” “Who?” “Mooookesh something? I don’t know, the intern.” “He’s not an intern! He’s one of our staff writers for the Arts.” “Ohhhhhh. Uhm, we can ask him anyway.” “Yeah alright, let me call him in.” A few minutes later Mukesh walks in and sees his editor and Paul sitting there. “Hey, uh, we have a question for you.” Mukesh looked back and forth. “What’s up?” Paul snickered “Yeah, do you know where bin Laden is?” The editor and Paul burst out into peals of laughter echoing across the office. Mukesh stood there for a moment, unsure what to do? Maybe it really was time to start looking for a new job. He never really did like these guys anyway. “No, seriously, we’ve got these couple of words from the new Vikram Chandra book and we were wondering if you could tell us if they’re okay to print.” “Uhm, alright. What are they?” “The first one is bhenchod. The other is maderchod.” It was Mukesh’s turn to laugh, but he caught it just in time. “They basically both mean buddy, or pal, or good guy. For example, Paul, I think you’re a real bhenchod. In fact, I think you’re the biggest bhenchod I’ve ever known.” Paul clapped his hands together and stood up. “Awesome! Well there you have it.” The editor beamed. “Great, we’ll run the article this week.” Mukesh looked at both of them. “Was that it?” His editor looked up from the article with a hint of annoyance. “Oh yeah, you can go. Thanks for your help.” “No problem, boss. I mean…maderchod.” “Ha!” the editor laughed. “You’re a good guy Mukesh. Even if you do know where bin Laden’s hiding.” Mukesh turned and walked out. It was definitely time to find a new job.

  21. Ah poets…

    The strong African American poets Thylias Moss and Jay Wright (who is woefully unknown).

    James Merril, Marianne Moore, HD and the imagists, Ezra Pound (declined in stature now, but as influential as Eliot), William Carlos Williams, John Ashberry of the Tennis Court Oath, Frank O’Hara, Kenneth Koch (The New York School of poetry – the literary answer to Abstract Expressionism); Theodore Roethke, James Wright, his son Franz Wright. Steven Mitchell’s Rilke, Robert Fitgerald’s Odyssey. etc. etc. etc. etc.

    In comparison, Britain has produced few good poets since Auden…My favorite is the nonsense poet Stevie Smith; I find the relgious nostalgist Geoffrey Hill indecipherable and Phillip Larkin something of a joke. Heaney is Irish.

    And there is no 20th century Anglo-American answer to Pablo Neruda. One would have to go back to Walt…

  26. I second the applause for Neale for bringing up Sherman Alexie.

    I also nominate Dorothy Allison, under Great Southern Writers.

  27. Do I believe the blasphemy I am hearing? A discussion of American Literature and no one mentions John Kennedy Toole and Ignacius, perhaps the best character to have come out of America.

  29. Ntozake Shange

    Only you Siddhartha, would add her next to John Steinbeck and just after Langston Hughes 🙂 I love when coloured girls, even studying it for exams didn’t kill it for me. Is it still being performed, does anyone know? Just been browsing through this as part of my late night procrastination and the angst against American literature by You Know Me is a bit sad.

    Calling Hemingway an arrogant prick is SO 20th century, you sound like a first year English major about to strangle yourself crazy with your Chairman Mao satchel. Calm down…

    I think some of the best American literature comes from the South, and from African American women’s writing. Even nonfiction writers like bell hooks, who I used in a political theory exam, know how to make words dance.

    What about Joyce Carol Oates, though? I’ve noticed that when everyone seems to start compiling their ‘best of’ lists, they always leave her out. I think she’s (almost) America’s Atwood.

  30. In today’s Rush & Molloy gossip column in the New York Daily News:

    Did The New York Times know it published horrible obscenities – albeit in Hindi – in its book review Sunday? The great broadsheet, which earns respect from all when it does things like publish photographs of all the soldiers who’ve died in Iraq, nevertheless shocked Indian readers with a list of words in Paul Gray’s review of “Sacred Games” by Vikram Chandra. Bloggers on Sepiamutiny.com commented, “Hee, hee, he said Bhen-” which means sister-er. Another word, meaning mother-, was there, as were bodily nether regions. Spokesfolks at The Times didn’t comment by deadline.

  31. nevertheless shocked Indian readers with a list of words in Paul Gray’s review of “Sacred Games” by Vikram Chandra

    I am not at all shocked. Why should I be?

    That is how people speak in Indiyah (obviously not in British Council Library in Delhi).

  33. Rush & Molloy need to attend a la-di-dah party in Mumbai, where MCs and BCs flow like champagne.

    Yeah…unfortunately that’s about all the Hindi those particular Mumbai types admit to knowing (or in fact know).

  34. Assume you saw this in the Times. Boy, these guys are really ramping up the juice on Sacred Games and Vikram Chandra.

    Did you know Harper Collins has set aside $300,000 just for the marketing budget for this baby?

  35. Vikram Chandra’s “Sacred Games” combines the ambition of a 19th-century social novel with a cops-and-Bhais detective thriller.

    Someone send a note to the New York Times and tell them they’re trying way too hard. WTF cops-and-Bhais? You get the feeling someone at the Times heard about Munna-Bhai and said, “Hey! Bhai must mean robber! This Mooner fella’s got it in his name.”

    Ai, sala!

  36. Someone send a note to the New York Times and tell them they’re trying way too hard. WTF cops-and-Bhais?

    Kobayashi, Bhai is a legit and very commonly used term for Mafia/ goons in Mumbai from ages. I think they are OK on this one.

  37. Oh, but bhai does have the double (or primary) meaning of “brother,” right? Aren’t they better off with goonda?

    (disclosure: my Hindi is only a shade better than Paul Gray’s)

  38. Oh, but bhai does have the double (or primary) meaning of “brother,” right?

    Sure, the primary meaning is brother. But I think Bhai is steps ahead of goonda in terms of legitimacy. Anyone can be a goonda, but a bhai has to have real/ perceived muscle, and give them grudingly some respect or fear.

    Commonly,

    bhai = goon of some repute mamu (primary meaning is uncle, mother’s brother) = cop

    The other day, I was saw Omkara, set in UP, Bihar. All the goons addressed themselves, and others as bhais. Omkara’s dialoges are as real as it gets.

  39. The new NYT review (two reviews for one book?) is MUCH better, except for this line:

    “Like spices in an Indian auntieÂ’s grinder, the book mixes English with Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and mobster vernacular.”

    GROAN!

  40. A gunda is your average street punk, usually a petty criminal who does the job by getting his own hands dirty. In jest, my grandfather calls my little cousins a bunch of gundas (they’re between 2 and 11 years old). A bhai is a smarter, bigger-time criminal – a mobster – and probably has his own entourage of gundas who do most of the dirty work for him. In Omkara, Omi is a bhai, and he’s got a bunch of lower level gundas working for him. At least, that’s what I always thought… and I’m Bihari, so I should know, right? 😛

    “Like spices in an Indian auntieÂ’s grinder, the book mixes English with Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and mobster vernacular.”

    Forget the spices reference, how are people supposed to know what an Indian auntie is? Maybe auntie isn’t that bad because most cultures have the matronly aunt-figure, but how are people supposed to know what a bhai is? What’s the point of using this kind of jargon to explain the book to a non-desi audience?

  41. What’s the point of using this kind of jargon to explain the book to a non-desi audience?

    Shruti, you’re a juggernaut of incisiveness. Woops.

  43. “Like spices in an Indian auntieÂ’s grinder, the book mixes English with Hindi, Urdu, Marathi and mobster vernacular.”

    I thought this was an improvement, actually. Usually the spices are just mixed, without any indication that there is a person doing the mixing. At least now there is agency. Though they could have said “South Asian auntie.”

  44. but how are people supposed to know what a bhai is? What’s the point of using this kind of jargon to explain the book to a non-desi audience? Shruti, They (NYT) doe explain “Bhai” within parenthesis. In some ways, Bhai = Godfather, you are using reverence term for a tough guy whom you seek protection from.

    The reason you (or most of us) know French/ Italian/ Spanish terms because they get used again and again. How do we use Mafia/ Cosa Nostra/ Omerta (Code of Silence) without even thinking twice.

    Maybe, 10 years from now. Bhai will be like Guru or Pundit, words commonly used in English

  45. Someone should come up with a Big L style ‘ebonics’ version of this glossary 🙂

    ..’I talk with slang and Ima neva stop speakin it!’

  47. What’s the point of using this kind of jargon to explain the book to a non-desi audience?
    Shruti, you’re a juggernaut of incisiveness.

    Oh come now, you know what I meant 🙂

  49. Vikram Chandra (hee hee, they said Shandra) was on NPR this morn. I think I am going to like Sacred Games even more than Maximum City.

    From the interview: “There’s an energy about the place that is unmistakable and very, very seductive,” Chandra says. “The citizens of Bombay love to complain about the city endlessly, but [they] also will defend it fearlessly against outsiders making the same complaints. As Sartaj puts it at the very end of the book, ‘When you’re away from it, you can miss it, physically you can ache for it — even for the stink of it.'”

  50. In case anyone is interested, Vikram Chandra is speaking at the Asia Society on Tuesday. Here are the details:

    Meet the Author: Vikram Chandra – Sacred Games
    Tue 01/16/07 6:30PM Asia Society and Museum 725 Park Avenue at 70th Street $10 Members; $12 Adults; $7 Students with ID Tickets are available by calling 212 517-ASIA or visiting tickets.asiasociety.org

    Cosponsored by the South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA).