Book Review: Professor in America (Malayalam)

The first time I heard about K L Mohanavarma was when, as a kid, I had a chance to read through a chapter of his popular novel- "Ohari" that was published in Mathrubhoomi Weekly. Though I could not understand much of the novel at that stage, I could make out that there was something about Economics and Commerce in it. Later, I grew up to be a Finance and Accounting professional that I am today and when I chanced upon K L Mohanavarma's books at D C Books today, did I come to know that the celebrated author has also been a student of Economics and Commerce in the past. I thought I would check him out once again and that is how I selected Professor in America, his smallest book available at the store. And Boy, to declare that I was impressed with his narrative style would be an understatement for such is the quality of his writing and his satirical take on his Professor. Professor in America has been modelled as a series of meetings between the author and his Professor, where in the Professor shares his experiences out of a recent trip to the US and urges the author to put them together into a book. The Professor is the epitome of hypocrisy for which the so called "intellectuals" in Kerala are very famous. He participates in anti- booze campaigns, but never fails to miss a drink; he purports to be an atheist but secretly visits temples; he declares that he is not bothered about whether or not he is respected by others, but gets upset if he is not recognized and welcomed at any gathering he visits. The Professor wants to share his experiences in the US with the common man thereby contributing to their "intellectual upliftment" but being the mediocre writer he is, he entrusts the responsibility of writing his memoirs to his trusted student who is the author himself. The Professor's views and opinions of the world around him (shrouded in hypocrisy, of course) evoke laughter, but even more hilarious is the author's (here the protagonist since the narrative is in the first person) reactions to the same. The Professor's take on air hostesses, liquor being served on international flights, his encounters with a call girl and with a couple of homo sexuals in the US deserve special mention. The expertise of Mohanavarma lies in the manner in which he has modelled his "Professor". One can find traces of this Professor in all the popular Malayalee intellectuals (Buddhijeevikal in the local language) and this is what makes the book very interesting to read. This book is high on time pass and definitely belongs to the "start to finish" category. A good option before an afternoon nap or during a short travel!