Ice Boys in Bell Bottoms - Krishna Shastri Devulapalli

 I read Krishna's book for the first time in 2009 or so I guess when I met him and Chitra at the HLF. I found it hilarious and I could easily see that Krishna was one of the funniest voices we have in India - and this was his debut book. But recently I felt like reading it again and Krishna gifted me a copy and I reread it. I fully got the beauty of the book and how evolved he was as a writer even then.

The story is his own - a famous grandfather, a father who drew cartoons, Krishna's childhood in Madras. But the way he wove the story to accomodate a steady stream of amazing characters who push the story forward, while making you laugh at each page, and then winding down a beautiful coming of age account with a bittersweet ending was brilliant. The family, the famous poet grandfather, father, mother, two sisters, the endless stream of wannabe film artistes, the protagonist Gopal's local friends who play Ice Boys (I Spy) with him is one lot. The other is the people around him - the Banka family with their super forward kids and mostly Sachu whose French and fashion sense many try to copy (including Gopal which is where the title gets its second part from - bell bottoms), the neighbour who would have his butt shaved by a barber, Deshbush and Ramki, and their drunken episodes, and finally Vini and Lata and the dance party that goes wrong.

I loved the way he crafted it, made the characters come alive, kept the funny bone alive all through and ended on a poignant, bittersweet note. Take a bow Krishna, brilliant stuff.