Kathmandu, Dec. 21 -- Originally written in Kannada and doubly translated-first in English, then in Nepali-Vivek Shanbhag's gripping novella, Ghachar Ghochar, tells the story of a Bangalore-based nouveau riche family and quite amazingly secures the slim book's position among weighty tomes like Midnight's Children and The God of Small Things.

In around 28,000 words, Shanbhag masterfully narrates the nitty-gritty of an Indian family, stripping the finest details to its bare bones and thus depicting the true, unapologetic picture of modern-day India. The Nepali translation has done justice to the English translation; however, the primary focus of this review is the English language novella.

The book opens with a commonplace declarative sta...