Self-reflection, empathy can reverse trend of neglecting elders: Preeti Shenoy

In the novel, A Hundred Little Flames, released by Westland Publishers, Preeti Shenoy, who contrasts the parallel cultures in urban and rural India in the context of interpersonal relationships, says that relationships are more cared for in rural India, where the pace of life is slower and roots of identity are more defined. “The book doesn’t set out to teach any lessons. But it does contrast the urban and rural life. The two are simply different,” says Shenoy.

The novel, Shenoy’s seventh, is about a 26-year-old boy, Ayan, who is suddenly plucked from a typically urban backdrop by his father and dropped into a small Kerala village shorn of modern-day comforts, including Internet connectivity, where he is to care for his grumpy grandfather, Gopal, who has just met with an accident, and how the two connect over time. “To take three characters from any novel (not just mine) and to say that the mindset of an entire generation can be condensed into a representative ideal would be looking at it extremely narrowly,” she says, speaking about the three central characters in her novel. 

“There are many youngsters in India who are exactly like Ayan, but then there are also many who are not like him at all! What the novel elucidates is finding oneself (no matter what your age is). It is only at the age of 80 that Gopal Shanker finally sets out to do what he should have done 20 years ago. The book has several messages and one of them is that no matter what your age, it is never too late to follow your heart,” she adds.

The father, Jairaj, does care for his son, but does not believe in his son’s dreams, she says. “He also cares for his father Gopal Shanker, but is driven by pragmatism rather than sentimentalism,” she muses. 

When we ask her to spell out the possible reasons why elders are being increasingly neglected in India, a country where age conventionally attracts respect and is equated with wisdom, she says, “There is only one reason — the selfishness of human nature. Yes, it can be reversed if there is self-reflection and empathy.” Her parents, Shenoy says, inspired the novel’s theme. “My mother and father are pioneers when it comes to initiatives for better lives for senior citizens. A deep empathy for the ageing and the fact that our elderly have a lot of stories within them, which are unheard of, were a big inspiration,” the writer adds. 

While Shenoy does not hail from Kerala, she claims she is automatically drawn towards the southern state. “Poongavanam (a fictitious village where a part of the story plays out) exists only in the pages of this book, and you are not likely to find it on Google maps, even though Ayan put it there. However, it closely resembles my mother’s village in Kerala. Erunjipally, a fictional place, could be any small town in Kerala. Again, you will not be able to spot in on a map,” she says. 

“My association with Kerala is a special one. I am not a Malayalee, though I can speak the language, and even read it. I learnt it outside my school curriculum, simply out of interest. Growing up, every summer vacation was spent at my grandparents’ ancestral home, which closely resembles Thekke Madoma (in the book). My love affair with Kerala continues to this day and this book is a tribute to a thousand cherished memories that I hold like a treasure within my heart,” she adds.