Dark Circles by Udayan Mukherjee: Initiating conversation (and realistic depictions) of Mental Health issues in India

Vandita Bajaj 

Depiction of mental illnesses in popular media—literature and films— has never been absolutely accurate. There are stand-out films like Silver Linings Playbook and A Beautiful Mind, which manage to brilliantly capture at least some, if not all, aspects of psychological disorders but they are rare. In the Indian media, the situation is much worse, movies like Karthik calling Karthik and Dear Zindagi reduce mental illnesses, to mere thematic devices—to add to the ‘thrill’ or ‘romance’ —in the storyline. Maybe what is different about the Hollywood and the Bollywood movies I mentioned is that the former are based on highly acclaimed and well-researched books. In India, the conversations around mental illnesses is sporadic, perhaps that is why literature— both in the genre of fiction and non-fiction— which gives a glimpse into the Indian experience of debilitating psychological conditions is a rarity. Dark Circles by Udayan Mukherjee, may be the first novel (at least, that I have come across) that explores the banalities of depression in an Indian setting.

The protagonists of the story are two brothers Ronojoy and Sujoy, upper-middle-class, well-educated, professionally successful men. The story begins with a letter that their mother leaves for them as she succumbs to cancer. The contents of the letter bring up old unresolved issues of their childhood, which continue to affect the brothers into their adult lives. When the boys were 12 and 6 respectively, their father committed suicide; within a few months of his death their mother admitted them in boarding school and left them for the life of an ashram in Rishikesh. While they do stay in touch with her, as they grow older the annual visits on her birthday, become rare. Perhaps it is the loss a parent that they never got over coupled with a sense of abandonment that they feel that develops into a clear case of depression in Ronojoy; and while Sujoy doesn’t admit it, like many others in our society, his alcohol consumption and unprovoked outbursts hint at the existence of a problem.

In his narrative, Mukherjee successfully brings out the multiple approaches that people take when they are dealing with the spectrum of mental health issues. 

For instance, Mala, the mother of the protagonists, feels an overriding sense of guilt after her husband passes away. She is never really able to come to terms with the trauma. Her response is to distance herself from loved ones including her children. As a reader one is torn between hating Mala, for leaving her children, but also feeling sorry for her because she never got over her own grief, being bound by the duties of motherhood. 

Sujoy, the younger of the two brothers is unable to immediately make sense of what happened to his father, neither is he able to understand why his mother sent them away when they needed her most. The grudge he holds against her translates into physical fights in school and domestic discord between him and his wife. The character appeared to be a study in how childhood conflicts affect emotional development and expression in adulthood. His professional success couldn’t make up for the insecurity developed in him during childhood. His refusal to acknowledge the problem only makes it worse for him and those around him, including his wife and young son.

But the most well-written character was that of Ronojoy who actually seeks professional (and doesn’t end up falling in love with his therapist)! The experience of his depression is not romanticized, he doesn’t become an acclaimed artist neither does he compose soulful music, instead he has sleepless nights despite his medication, he feels tired, listless and unfocused. Unlike his brother, he makes a conscious effort to not become dependent on alcohol as a coping mechanism. What especially struck me was the way the author is able to bring out the genetic component of depression along with highlighting the changing attitudes towards it. Subir, Ronojoy’s father may have also suffered from depression but never sought help because at the time no one perceived that there was any need to get professional help.

 The story doesn’t have a happy ending, in fact, the ending is abrupt and just tells the reader what the two protagonists are doing a year after their mother’s death. Sujoy has had a divorce, is working on his drinking problem and quit his high-pressure job to work in the NGO sector. Ronojoy on the other hand starts drinking regularly and, as the author hints, may be pondering suicide. It lacks the cheesy closure of Bollywood movies and has the depth and thoughtfulness of good research which makes it a disturbing yet revealing commentary.

Udayan Mukherjee successfully explores the multiple facets of mental illnesses—ranging from guilt to alcohol dependence, from the inability to maintain relationships to the suspected genetic link. He brings out that there isn’t a fixed set of symptoms or triggers, the spectrum for depression is extremely vast and how one experiences it is highly subjective. Mukherjee has hopefully paved the way for other people to explore the subject and face the reality that regular people face mental health issues. 

References: 

Mukherjee, U. (2018). Dark Circles. New Delhi: Bloomsbury India.