Reading a novel by an Indian author, set in an Indian setting, makes me understand how Americans must feel when they read any of the million books written by American authors. Unfortunately, for Indian English fiction lovers, this experience is not that common. But whenever you pick up an Anuja Chauhan novel, you know you are in for a fun filled experience.
To begin with, the fact that it is a family drama/ contemporary romance set in a quintessential Indian background, is in itself a honey trap for young Indian readers. You know you will get all the inside jokes because you belong to that very in group. You know you’ll relate to the emotions and melodrama that no ‘gora’ can ever begin to understand. You know that whenever you look up from reading the book, you will find many real life aexamples of the characters.
To add to this feeling of ‘yes! I’m superior to the first world folks cause I can understand something they can’t’ is the fact that Anuja Chauhan uses Hindi lingo with absolute shamelessness in an English novel. And although that would restrict many non Hindi speaking readers from extracting all the juice out of the story, for Hindi speaking readers, it multiplies the enjoyment ten folds.
On top of that, Ms. Chauhan has a remarkably witty and humorous way of depicting almost any situation her characters find themselves in. so you’ll find yourself grinning even when the hero is jailed or the heroine is fired out of her job. In fact, even when murders and suicides are being played out.
Coming to this specific novel, the story is set in the last part of the 20th century, when the Indian political scenario was taking a sharp turn. But then, I wonder when has the Indian political scenario not been taking sharp turns? Never the less, this was a time when those DD channels that cable operators offer for free now, were the Star Plus, Zee Cinema and ESPN combined. This was a time when European style toilets were a mark of luxury and when people stepped in, instead of stepping out, to make a call as they needed a landline to do so.
I personally have had the privilege of experiencing this life during my childhood that I recall quite vividly and thus reading novels based around the 1990’s India bring fond memories of a simple life. Quite similar to the feeling that any Indian millennial would get listening to Kumar Shanu songs.
Over all, a fun and a must read for all Indians. Reading this book is like eating mangoes. You know the entire world can claim to have tasted them, but they haven’t tasted mangoes the way all Indians have. Be prepared to LOL and ROFL from the first page itself.
And ‘Bonu’ bonus, this novel even has a sequal that is definitely going on my ‘to be read’ list.
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