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New Indian Express

Bengaluru blues of a retired man

At what price can peace be attained? To what extent are individuals equipped to deal with a life of constant debility? In MR Dattathri's novel, What's Your Price, Mr. Shivaswamy?, we find these questions pique the readers' curiosity. Written originally in Kannada and translated into English by the author himself, this novel is a tour de force of a retired man searching for answers that keep escaping him. The story begins with Shivaswamy regretting going for an interview. He is retired from an HR position that stationed him in Ghaziabad all his life. Finally, with an opportunity to return to his home state, he plans a future for himself and his wife in Bengaluru. But life in this city is anything but seamless. To begin with, the flat for which he's already made a down payment is still in its construction phase. The builders are only finding reasons to spike the budget of the construction without any reassurance. Secondly, his wife had to go to the US all by herself to be with their daughter because a new responsibility falls on Shivaswamy, and he is unsure whether he can justify it. As the dream of a retirement house and life beside his kith and kin crumbles with every passing day, Shivaswamy wonders what exactly went wrong. Pacy, engaging and touching, this novel plunges the reader into the life of a man who is barely holding together and yet manages to never give in.