As cities grow, they not only bear promises of modernisation, but also leave trails of memories and the nostalgia. City dwellers, keen to pass their memories to new generations, harp on about the ‘good old days’ and lament the loss of the city’s old charm, now turned to chaos. The new generation, in its quest for change, is in a constant struggle with the older generation’s ideals and values. Amrita Mahale’s debut novel Milk Teeth narrates the story of Bombay as it changed into Mumbai in the 1990s, transforming on several fronts – economic, political and communal. The financial capital struggles to retain its old soul as it comes to terms with liberalisation. Mahale brings to life a city in transition, its residents straddling convention and aspiration, hoping to be free someday in a city that promises the fulfilment of everyone’s dreams. Amrita MahaleMilk TeethWestland Publications, 2018Ira Kamat is a fearless and progressive journalist. She abhors hierarchy and is keen on shedding light on the lives of the poor. She is distressed by the stark class divide that is characteristic of Mumbai: While a large section of the city’s population lives in sub-human conditions in slums, some live in posh areas, like Malabar Hill, oblivious of the plight of the others.Also Read: How New Delhi Became What It Is TodayA middle-class Konkani speaker, Ira lives in a residential building, Asha Nivas, in the fast-growing neighbourhood of Matunga. The story begins with the residents of Asha Nivas, including the families of Ira Kamat and Kartik Kini, her next-door neighbour and fellow Konkani speaker, coming together to agonise over their landlord’s plan to redevelop the building. The residents want the landlord to buy them new flats as compensation for moving out. All they expect from their landlord – and those around them – is a reciprocation of loyalty and compassion. Keen to hold on to their notions of morality, duty and solidarity, they fear that the new face of the city will be indifferent and even hostile.Besides highlighting the changing face of Mumbai, the novel also reveals the changing family values of the time. An older generation, like Ira and Kartik’s parents, has middle-class aspirations: to lift their social status through white collar jobs, and rigid moral codes. For Ira and Kartik, though, the old values their parents cling to are burdensome. Karthik is often livid at his parent’s choices. He dreams of being wealthy. Likewise, Ira finds herself sandwiched between her parents’ values and her own progressive thinking. While she empathises with their concerns about the changing face of the city, she does not share their biases against Muslims, and goes on to date a Muslim man, Kaiz.Amrita Mahale, author of ‘Milk Teeth’.The relationship also exposes Ira to the reality of class disparity in Mumbai. Kaiz doesn’t fuss about his privileged life in the posh Malabar Hill, but Ira is nonetheless keenly aware of her middle-class upbringing in her Matunga home, and importantly, the indifference of the privileged towards those who live in sub-human conditions in Mumbai slums.The novel also exposes moral policing and double standards regarding sexual orientation. Kartik, who is homosexual, initially agrees to get engaged to Ira without disclosing his sexual preferences to either her or to his own family. He is aware that his family, which cannot fathom anything beyond the idea of a heterosexual marriage, would object. Also Read: Book Review: A 21st Century Story of a Gay Man’s Coming out JourneyIf that was not enough, the way Kartik chooses to end his engagement is even more farcical, if not criminal. He plans to eject himself from the trap of their impending marriage by ‘exposing’ Ira’s previous relationship with a Muslim. Ira’s past becomes an instrument for his freedom, notwithstanding the moral confusion of a city reeling from recent communal fractures.Milk Teeth is a novel of the ‘maximum city’ with no pretension of being ‘the great Bombay novel’ or a typical ‘noir’ in the tradition of Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games and Gregory David Roberts’s Shantaram. To the relief of the reader, it also does not romanticise the city or view it through rose-tinted glasses. The everyday lifestyle of Mumbai comes to light in the author’s crisp yet lucid prose. Mahale’s strength as a writer, apart from the beautiful prose, is in looking back at the past, not just with nostalgia but a critical lens to challenge its customs and hypocrisies. Her vivid and convincing depiction of Mumbai is a treat, especially for those who have never lived in the city. Fathima M. is a PhD candidate at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She was a Fulbright scholar at the University of Texas at Austin in the academic year 2017-18.
