Serious, Men

If time and beauty have been proven relative, why not one’s genius. 

Albert Einstein says that a period in time is not absolute furthermore we often hear that charm is in the eyes of the beholder.  And yes, genius, is another matter that can also be verified relative.

Joseph Manu affirms the theory of relativity in his award-winning debut novel “Serious Men.”

It is a comical and witty satire on India’s caste system and the banality of one’s life while incorporating themes on religion, science, and philosophy. 

The novel anchors on Ayyan Mani’s dream of uplifting his family’s life as dalits, the second to the lowest in the caste system, next to the untouchables. Mani works as a clerk in a Science Research Institute where the Brahmins study the Bing Bang Theory and the Artificial Intelligence. Brahmins are the highest stature in India’s society.  

Mani’s ambitious desire to challenge the triviality of his life and be better than his dalit friends pushed him to package his son Adi as a boy genius. He may be smart but too far to be another Einstein. Considering that Adi is a semi-deaf, his mother taught that he would never make a name in the society because of his defect. Manni never wanted to deceive anybody—he just wanted his housewife to have something to be proud, he wanted Adi to feel good about himself, and he only wanted to have a happy family despite their stature as dalits. 
 

And so starts the witty and comical connivance between Manni and Adi.  To appear a genius, always blurt out seemingly innocent yet profound questions during class discussions, Manni told his son. Thus, Adi would always ask his teacher questions regarding philosophy, mathematics, religion, or whatever Manni has picked up during his work in the science institute like, what is our purpose in life and why is the sky blue. 

Adi’s apparent brilliance landed him a chance to participate in a quiz bee, but the problem arises on his ability to win the contest, or at least answer one question. Manni knew that Adi could not answer any question so he decided to eavesdrop during the finalization of the questions. Too bad, he has only heard three questions.  

During the course of the contest, Manni told Adi to answer out loud and to cut off the emcee in midsentence, so he could appear too eager to respond to the questions (the only three questions he knows) and thus be disqualified and asked to leave the room. He may have not won but his short appearance gained him a page in the newspaper. 

But before anyone can detect their treachery, Manni told his son to stop projecting his ‘genius image.’ 

But imminent circumstances led the father and son to yet again, played the geniuses until the end of the story. (Spoiler) 

Though the book cover may be taken at face-value as something side-splitting, Joseph Manu’s “Serious Men” is indeed a grave storytelling on India’s culture and the banality of life, not only in India but around the world.