Just finished reading "2 States". Yet another victory of Chetan Bhagat. Yes, he has managed to click with the Indian readers again.
I'm not typically a CB fan. His vocab is rather simple, not the typical "writer" types. But there is a hidden beauty in his writing, it appeals instantly, its readable, and understood by all. His writing reminds me of J.D Salinger (the author of "The Catcher in the Rye"), simple, ordinary, with a dash of salt and pepper ;)
Coming back to "2 states", I could relate very well to this story, the reverse way in my case.
My boyfriend comes from a Tamil brahmin family, and I from an Assamese brahmin family. The combination is rather strange, but not impossible.
Nothing is impossible, love conquers all. This might sound corny, but true it is. Yet another college love story, yet another clash of cultures, languages, festivals, "FOOD HABITS" etc. etc. the list is long, the only commonality is "LOVE". I find such love stories very filmy, so many "nautankis" involved, so many obstacles, drama, thrill and finally the much awaited "wedding".
Ours was rather simple. Somehow everything fell into place, and we never had to face any such turmoils (Touchwood!!!). Ofcorse there are the inevitable "hurdles" like cousins, relatives, aunts, uncles, neighbors etc. But "love" can only be understood by people who have ever experienced it.
And then the most annoying questions like:
* In which language do you guys converse? (ooops its a tough math problem, pls help me solve!!!!!)
* Will you learn "tamil"? (this with a sarcastic grin)
* Will he learn "assamese"? (this again with a sarcastic grin)
* What would be your kids' mother tongue? (eye rolling smiley)
* Will you change your surname? (tongue out)
* Will you cook south indian food? (this with the expression of a charred vada)
* Will you become a veggie? (this with the look of a starving lion almost dead)
And after answering to a convoy of such annoying questions, there would be few more questions, and then some sarcastic smiles. Not that difficult actually, convincing our social, regional and cultural messiahs.
That was partly my experience. Coming back to the book, I loved the last sentence (Read: the baby belongs to a state called India). This is the most beautiful part of the book. Why can't we all belong to our country rather than only the states? Why can't we think as a single entity? It's time to modernize our thoughts, our opinions and beliefs. Since last 4 years I've been preaching this, and I'm so happy that there are others in this revolution too. It's time to wake up to a new dawn, a new nation, a new generation, a new culture which encompasses the beauty of all our cultures.
I re-quote: Love conquers all!!
I'm not typically a CB fan. His vocab is rather simple, not the typical "writer" types. But there is a hidden beauty in his writing, it appeals instantly, its readable, and understood by all. His writing reminds me of J.D Salinger (the author of "The Catcher in the Rye"), simple, ordinary, with a dash of salt and pepper ;)
Coming back to "2 states", I could relate very well to this story, the reverse way in my case.
My boyfriend comes from a Tamil brahmin family, and I from an Assamese brahmin family. The combination is rather strange, but not impossible.
Nothing is impossible, love conquers all. This might sound corny, but true it is. Yet another college love story, yet another clash of cultures, languages, festivals, "FOOD HABITS" etc. etc. the list is long, the only commonality is "LOVE". I find such love stories very filmy, so many "nautankis" involved, so many obstacles, drama, thrill and finally the much awaited "wedding".
Ours was rather simple. Somehow everything fell into place, and we never had to face any such turmoils (Touchwood!!!). Ofcorse there are the inevitable "hurdles" like cousins, relatives, aunts, uncles, neighbors etc. But "love" can only be understood by people who have ever experienced it.
And then the most annoying questions like:
* In which language do you guys converse? (ooops its a tough math problem, pls help me solve!!!!!)
* Will you learn "tamil"? (this with a sarcastic grin)
* Will he learn "assamese"? (this again with a sarcastic grin)
* What would be your kids' mother tongue? (eye rolling smiley)
* Will you change your surname? (tongue out)
* Will you cook south indian food? (this with the expression of a charred vada)
* Will you become a veggie? (this with the look of a starving lion almost dead)
And after answering to a convoy of such annoying questions, there would be few more questions, and then some sarcastic smiles. Not that difficult actually, convincing our social, regional and cultural messiahs.
That was partly my experience. Coming back to the book, I loved the last sentence (Read: the baby belongs to a state called India). This is the most beautiful part of the book. Why can't we all belong to our country rather than only the states? Why can't we think as a single entity? It's time to modernize our thoughts, our opinions and beliefs. Since last 4 years I've been preaching this, and I'm so happy that there are others in this revolution too. It's time to wake up to a new dawn, a new nation, a new generation, a new culture which encompasses the beauty of all our cultures.
I re-quote: Love conquers all!!
