There’s a reason they say there’s more truth concealed in humour than humour concealed in truth. And here’s another testament to it, a hilarious blend of wit, sarcasm, art, smart wordplay, and above all, truth! That, in a nutshell, is Toehold’s The Crazy Desi Book!
Filled with tummy-numbingly funny remarks, made by clever cartoon characters on those experiences that you cannot escape while travelling in India, The Crazy Desi Book is a total laugh-riot, especially if you are someone who has always enjoyed illustrations. The crazily tangled but deftly drawn lines will tickle you throughout the read, and even after reading the book, you will perhaps find yourself quoting ‘Cow’alli, ‘Cat’reena, Yo!bra, ‘Woof’adar Bhai, RATappa, Durga Murga, GO‘tee’, ‘Ullu’da, K.A.Raddy and many other characters on different occasions!
And here are five reasons why we assure you that you’ll do so:
1. Train and bike and rickety rickshaw trav‘ail’s.
Oh, your empathy shall be put to test! You will see two, three, four and even multi-wheelers like trains ambulating through the changing landscapes of the country, brimming with people, and if you’re planning to choose any of them to travel, The Crazy Desi Book will help you brace yourself for an endurance-testing journey. But worry not, if Gregory David Roberts could do it and be moved to write Shantaram, you might have loads of stories to share with the world too!
2. For the love of language.
Let’s face it. As romantic as it sounds, diversity in India can be a little unnerving as it can be felt every few hundred kilometres you travel. And that must certainly excite an adventure junkie like you. But if signboards in different states look like hot jalebis you love, and if there’s no English version of them to help you, bring out your interest not only in geography but in demographics and translate it into action. Talk to people, learn a few words from the locals and that’ll not only help you with your daily conversations but also make those you speak with happy.
3. Miracle in the mundane.
Yes; you need to look both ways before crossing one-way roads, and yes; you might have to forget a few traffic rules to survive, and yes; the air throbs with cacophony and urgency… but, we tick, we still function, and we still manage to get to the place we want, in spite of every hurdle that comes our way, quite literally, to test our grit (For what? **clears throat** Ahem, we, too, are still trying to figure out!).
4. Weekend getaways on a whim.
Perhaps corpo‘rat’s understand this better than anyone else. Anyway, if you are travelling to some popular destination and you aren’t one of those for whom the weekend is the only time to live the way you want (oops!), then you must try to make it on a weekday. The place shall be less-crowded and commute can be hassle-free too.
5. Morbid jokes about travel surprises and lessons.
The Crazy Desi Book illustrates several contradicting nuances of travelling in a country where even chaos is exotic and which attracts explorers from all over the globe. Here, people ‘reserve’ seats in buses with their hanky or towel or cap or anything else they can think of; here, family travel means not only a hell lot of fun but also a hell lot of noise; here, long-distance travel means men stopping by the highways to empty their bladders while women have to shush it and wait until there’s a decent public toilet or a cafe around; here, biker boys go to mountains in search of some quiet on their loud bullets; here, people spit on signs that say ‘please don’t spit’ until the letters are bloodied… and more of such harmless conundrums.
Grab your copy of The Crazy Desi Book now, and have a mirthful time!