What does the Old Bailey blunt? It blunts the sensitivity, Horace Rumpole says this line at the beginning of the Rumpole canon. Law may be a jealous mistress, but her charms often make life dull, mechanical and repetitive. The most perilous circumstances in an individual’s life become nothing but just a ‘matter’ for the men in black and white.
Day in and day out, ‘laa-yers’ seek to please Lady Justitia (now unarmed) and get favourable orders. In this hustle-bustle, as the week passes and Sunday draws near, scores of lawyers in Bombay eagerly wait to read the latest kissa from Raju Z Moray - the poet-author-chronicler of what he calls the Humbug Hi.
Published originally as Adaalat Antics on The Leaflet, Moray has brought forth a compilation of some of his juiciest stories in ‘Fun-in-Law’. With thirty stories that make the reader laugh, think, worry and sometimes even angry, the book is like a multivitamin tablet, sufficient to evoke and sustain ‘feelings’ in a practising lawyer.
Opening its innings with a foreword penned by a former Supreme Court judge, every story in the book reveals and brings forth an element of human nature. For readers who have originally read the stories and are now given a chance to relive their memories, the book is like Lord Byron saying,
"Again I revisit the hills where we sported, The streams where we swam, and the fields where we fought."
The cover itself, which has Lady Justice with ‘chaha-paani/baksheesh’ tucked in her hair, tells us what is in store.
The variety of the characters in its stories is indicative of the varied background, culture, ideologies and outlook of the members of the profession. At the outset, the book makes it clear to the readers that position and power belong to an office and not to the people who occupy it from time to time. It is better to respect the ‘seat’ than be dazzled by the presumed eminence of the ‘high and mighty’.
Without disclosing the names of the individuals who feature in these stories, the author often goes directly for the jugular, bringing to the reader’s knowledge the pettiness and even the sheer audacity of some of the respected members of the profession. Even milords are not being spared from the guillotine of the author. But to characterise the book as a gossip lover’s novella would be far from the truth. The reader is narrated stories of men of high character who did what they believed was the right thing to do, even at a cost.
Fun-in-Law serves as a guide book for anyone seeking to join the practice of law. It lays before us the workings of the ‘noble’ profession. The reader is acquainted with both sets of our fellow men – people like Judge Shaikh who tried to ensure justice at all costs and those like Justice Jovial who sought to ‘manage’ it. From Advocate Kamgari who worked double to Lord Rotund who looked the other way - all sorts of tendencies are washed in full public view.
However, the book does leave behind a sense of worry in the reader’s mind. Intended to be light-hearted and full of fun, the residue left behind by each story accumulates to an extent that makes one question institutional credibility. When the judges who adorn the Bench and lawyers who take pride in being officers of the court are shown to be susceptible to baser human frailties and vices, where does a young lawyer look to as a source of inspiration? It makes one ponder whether there even was a time where righteousness and propriety was the norm, courage the rule and impartiality the basis of administration of Justice.
But love, anger, hatred, laughter are all human feelings that can be felt only by those who have not become humourless automatons. This is exactly what ‘Fun-in-Law’ does. The reader may feel amused and have a hearty laugh; or be repelled by the contents of a particular story. That is where the book makes its mark. It does not blunt the sensitivity of lawyers. It keeps our conscience awake and thus captures the fun of being human.
Lastly, Fun-in-Law recognises and commends honesty and upright behaviour. It tells us that if you do your task and be therewith content, you will be recognised and rewarded and your ultimate prize would not just be to ascend to the heights of the Supreme Court, but rather thereafter to pen a Foreword to a brilliant masterpiece. The book makes the readers eagerly await the author’s next publication.
Advait S Gokhale is a lawyer based in Mumbai.