Manoj Das
		The Naked

Probably first published in a newspaper, date unknown. Included in collection Selected Fiction, paperback published 2001 by Penguin Books India (this date is used for the purposes of chronological listing within Yarns Without Threads).

While a prophet is often without honour in his own country, for writers it is almost the opposite. Although Manoj Das has been writing - and being read and admired - for more than half a century, he is almost unknown outside his native land. Since much of his work has been in English, there is not even the excuse of a need for translation. On the strength of the 28 short stories and one novella in Selected Fiction, I would say that Das deserves a wider readership in Britain. The tales deal with everyday life in villages and small towns, and I found it refreshing to see this from an Indian perspective. Over the years I have read and enjoyed a fair bit of Rudyard Kipling, Paul Scott and John Masters, but the only indigenous Indian storytelling I can remember is a long-ago viewing of Ray's Apu films. This book has encouraged me to seek out more, and there's a clear pointer, both on the cover and in some of the book's reviews, towards R K Narayan. At least that name sounds vaguely familiar.

In The Naked, Bhanu Singh is the housekeeper and general factotum responsible for the summer palace of a minor ruling family. As British rule draws to a close, and the elaborate structure of hereditary power and influence crumbles in the face of imminent replacement by democratic government, most aristocrats are quietly withdrawing from authority into mere gentility. The summer palace is rarely visited, and the faithful family retainer is surprised to get a message from his dowager mistress, requiring him to receive a group who are to conduct a full-day conference on the premises. As he goes about arranging the accommodation and refreshments, he also tries to sort out a suitable welcoming ceremony. While discussing this with the local schoolmaster, he is disconcerted - but in no way outraged or offended - to be told the meaning of "Nudist", which is how the group are described. His subsequent efforts to find the right person to greet the visitors, and his confusion over his own need for nudity or otherwise, not only show us a variant on the usual collection of attitudes to social nudity, but also provide a delightful catalogue of ways in which non-naturists can be publicly naked.

Finding a copy of this story is not easy, but I think it is well worth the effort. Try the extracts to get an idea of the style and content.

An edited version of this review appears in the 2005 January issue of H&E Naturist magazine.

Ratings:

Nudity	Naturist nudity	A good read?

Last updated 2004 March 18.
 
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