Author: Bhaichand Patel
Translator(s)/Editor: Bhaichand Patel
Publisher: Penguin/Viking
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 188
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0670999024
Description
Being single: for some, it means complete bliss; for others, it is a malaise that must be cured. Irrespective of one's point of view, in a society where the unattached person is viewed as an oddity, singledom comes with challenges: dealing with uncomfortable questions from well-meaning relatives and friends; the hushed whispers; the envy; and, of course, the unwanted attention from those who think singles are people of dubious morals.
Chasing the Good Life: On Being Single has a diverse crop of individuals bringing you their stories—the nonagenarian Khushwant Singh revels in gastric freedom; ‘single girl' Radhika Jha struggles to find accommodation in Delhi (she has since given up and married); Sheela Reddy lives the life of a ‘married single'; Suhel Seth perfects (or doesn't) the art of seduction; and Jerry Pinto finds unique ways to combat annoying people who ask him why he isn't married.
Through many such tales of bliss, exasperation, freedom, loneliness, self-discovery, hilarity and heartbreak (the editor, Bhaichand Patel, has found to his dismay that there is more to chasing the good life than lust and debauchery) this anthology captures the spirit of a person alone.
Contents
INTRODUCTION
Being Single
Life’s A Party
What is it that single men do?
Bathrooms are not for sharing
Minority Report
Suddently Single
When they ask you, Why aren’t you Married?
A Bachelor’s guide to surviving Delhi
A Widower’s notes on living alone
The Slug
Married single-Maid in Heaven
The Other is Hell
Barsaati Days
Are You Married?
Singleton
My Life Out of a Suitcase
It Couldn’t Be Better!
We the Tribe
Living Alone and Happy
Single in Delhi
A world of my own
Getting to know me
Home Alone
Note Perfect, Just Single
The wonderfully Bearable Lightness of Being single
One Plus three
Cry Freedom
Simply Single
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS