HalfOpen Windows

‘On one side | the sea. On the other | the city. A city that seemed to believe that the Queen’s Necklace was enough past for it | a city sacrificing its beauty at the dirty altars of money.’ An acclaimed contemporary Marathi novel | Half-Open Windows (Khidkya Ardhya Ughadya) is a striking portrait of India’s urban upper middle class on an obsessive quest for riches and prestige. Set in the enticing yet treacherous city of Mumbai | it closely follows the lives of people connected to SNA Architects | an up-and-coming firm | basking in the glory of their recent success—a high-rise in the premium area of Colaba.As events unfold | we encounter the corrupt and ruthless Niranjan | founder of SNA and his associate | Nita | who think bribery is a small price to pay to get to the top; another founder of SNA | the honest but naïve Sanika and Shushrut | an aspiring writer who is no longer content to play her stay-at-home partner; an NGO worker | Swarupa | torn between her loyalty to an old friend and her duty as a whistle-blower; a lonely widow | Joshi Kaku | who wonders if moving to the US to live with her son and his family—with whom she can forge no connections—is a wise idea and Ramakant | a young student of architecture | who is contemplating suicide in a desperate bid for attention.Even as this diverse cast of characters chases happiness and success | Mumbai emerges as the central character—the driving force behind their aspirations and dreams and their ethical compromises.Combining sharp observation with dry humour | Ganesh Matkari provides rich insights into the human psyche. His compelling prose and Jerry Pinto’s pitch-perfect translation make Half-Open Windows an unputdownable read.