Book Review: Pyjamas are Forgiving

Author: Twinkle Khanna

Publisher: Juggernaut

Published: September 7, 2018

Pages: 221

ISBN: 9386228971

Genre: Drama fiction

"I pulled on the pyjamas, tugged at the drawstring - not so tight that it chafed against my skin, not too loose that it would fall down around my knees - and made a double knot."

I can imagine Khanna sitting under one of the Jamun trees at Kerala's Shanthamaya Sthalam, piping down fiction on pages, which is now called Pyjamas are Forgiving. After the success of her first literary offspring, Mrs. Funnybones, and her trembling second, Legend of Laxmi Prasad, Pyjamas are Forgiving came out as the author's promising third child and first novel on September 7, 2018. 

This book is 221 pages of 21st-century personal drama. Anshu, a woman in her forties, is on her annual health pilgrimage to Kerala's Ayurvedic spa called Shanthamayaa Sthalam, to clear her doshas and treat her sleep disorder. In these 28 days of temporary sannyasa from the outer world and its delicacies, Anshu goes through gagging half glass of medicated ghee mixed with cow's urine, bland food, innumerable yoga asanas, under strict 'no alcohol, smoking, sex and caffeine' policy. Tables turn when Anshu's ex-husband, Jay, comes to Shanthamayaa with his new young wife, Shalini. The entire rejuvenation agenda becomes a khichdi as ex-spouses come closer, Anshu takes the memory lane back to her marriage and dating days, and finally comes face-to-face with her deep buried emotions. The main plot is supported by other characters - Jenna, Vivaan, Javed, Anil, Lalit, Pam, Glenda - who are patients at Shanthamayaa, along with Dr. Menon and Dr. Pillai. Inferences from Jay's family and telephonic conversations with Anshu's sister Mandira and her mother, add the familial trait to the story. 

'Silence is perhaps a way of life when you are both a Muslim and a 

homosexual in India. You get used to it, being discreet with your

 emotions and concealing your identity.'

-JAVED

While Khanna takes a detour to other themes of LBGTQ+, youth, sensuality, friendship, religious compatibility and differences, and feminism, she also abides by individual introspection and questions the principles of love. The point of beauty in the entire novel is Anshu. An independent woman who speaks her mind with witty remarks and takes life for a twirl every now and then. Suffering from sleep disorder, disoriented emotions and unclear convictions, she reaches Shanthamayaa's doorsteps in hope for an Ayurvedic rejuvenation but ultimately comes face-to-face with her fears, deep-buried insecurities, anger and hurt. She takes up the road to self-awakening in these 28 days. From being the 'other woman' to her ex-husband, who had hurt her with an 'other woman' seven years back, to drinking her frustration and anxiety with caffeine and alcohol (yes, she broke some of Shanthamayaa's rules), to coming in terms with her feelings for her ex-husband, she grew as a righteous woman after stumbling a few steps. Her battle with her younger self and her romantic self is remarkable and speaks to many readers. Understanding that love is nasty, weird, imperfect, and hurting makes Anshu mature. She understands that her current feelings might make her happy but being happy is not always being right. The raw expression of love, companionship and sex makes this book a befitting of Anshu and Jay's story.

'An instant later, I realized I was doing exactly what we had been doing

 to each other for centuries, what Jenna was in fact doing now, blaming 

ourselves, blaming other women. Why was she out so late? Why was she

 wearing that? Why was she drinking so much?

Blame is a bullet that the world fires at an already wounded victim.'

-ANSHU

Character build-ups seem to be a big letdown in the novel but what disappoints me even more is the decreased efficiency in the narration of pivotal matters. While Anshu recalls her miscarriage and tells the tale of how she found out about her husband's extra-marital affair, the real incidence of Anshu and Jay's divorce is still in the blur. Likewise, the recurring behind-the-back meetups of the old couple and constant flashbacks make the story inconveniently stretchy and around 40 pages before the end, it had put me to bed. The start and middle of the story are smooth with the diction of just the appropriate measure but the end becomes comparatively lethargic. The final call is not anticlimactic, rather expected. 

'Anshu, we all come with expiry dates. The only difference between ours 

and those of milk bottles you see on supermarket shelves is that theirs are

 printed on their lids and ours are flying in the wind.'

-JAY

The interesting points have to be the narration and inclusion of Ayurveda in the plot and how even millennials turned to the old Indian medical science for their physiological ailments. Dr. Menon is seen as a person with heartfelt admiration for Ayurveda but doesn't deny the importance of psychological health when it comes to Anshu's sudden perturbed doshas. The friendship between Dr. Menon and Anshu is smart, witty but also very humble and understanding. The friendship between all the patients of Shanthamayaa, with occasional flirts, adds warmth to the story. Jenna and Anshu's relationship is new but very strong. They become each other's support in times of adversities. From fighting for nonconsensual sex to Jenna's fall and brain injury, Anshu stays by Jenna's side while Jenna becomes Anshu's path to self-awakening and feminist realisations. The narrative becomes lively with occurrences drawn from real life. Khanna takes abject consideration in combining the world of mobile phones with that of natural and herbal spiritual enlightenment. Predominantly governed by rich language, this book's vocabulary can be a knock on the reader's sleeping brain cells but makes the book justifiably interesting. Khanna's humour is supplemented in Anshu's witty comebacks and carries the author's essence throughout the story. The humorous compositions of various Ayurvedic treatments are giggling and balance Anshu's sad struggling life.

'Anil, pyjamas are forgiving in nature, it's jeans that really know how to hold a grudge'.

-ANSHU

'And which one are you, Anshu?'

-VIVAAN

'I will always be a pyjama, I am just going to be one with a shorter drawstring.'

-ANSHU

The book cover by Tavishi Sahu carries the trademark white background of Khanna's books and the woman in white kurta and pyjama printed upside down with the unique title makes the reader curious and the book, inviting.

Book Review by - Vasudha Sharma

Written on - May 28, 2021