The Man-Eaters of Malgoonda and the Last Days of Louella Lobo Prabhu

"The police ...wanted to have fun with the girls!" says one of the interviewees in this earthy, talky, colloquial description of the texture of South Indian life in Mangalore, one that is rich in characters--a book of fiction and nonfiction unlike anything else written about the town of Mangalore (unless it is the author's other book, the widely published novel "The Revised Kama Sutra.") Despite its satirical and unsparing examination of the town and its people, the writer harbors a deep love and fascination for the city and the community he grew up in. Why should this book matter? Because Mangalore is a microcosm of the colonial world, and of small ethnic groups that are barely managing to survive globalization and being overrun by majority cultures. Richard Crasta, the author of the bestselling novel The Revised Kama Sutra, knew the local writer, musician, and playwright Louella Lobo Prabhu over a period of more than thirty years, and met her five days before her death. Crasta writes an intimate and affectionate essay about her and her society. The book also contains the voices and interviews of Mangalorean characters such as Dennis Britto, Malcolm Noronha, Father Claude, an unnamed and spirited Bunt woman, Reuben Nazareth, and others.