The book I read last! - Thus Spake Tan!

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A Quote for life!


“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.
Specialization is for Insects

Robert A Heinlein
(American science-fiction writer,1907-1988)

The book I read last is ‘The 3 mistakes of my life’ by Chetan Bhagat, the author of the best sellers like ‘Five Point Someone’ and ‘One Night @ the Call Center’. As usual Chetan starts his books with a preface and while you read through you never know when you get shifted from this prelude to the main story. It is like he drags you in the story and you only know it once you finish reading the book – in the epilogue. It was a true absorbing story and I could finish reading the whole book pretty fast I believe. I was made to read and read on – less because there were frequent load shedding in our area and more because of the flow of the story. He never stopped, until he reached the last page! I like this person’s writing. He is different and more like an Indian writer.

Well, now that I have read the book, I can talk about the mistakes the hero (Govind Patel) did throughout the book. Hope he comes out of the book someday. This is a good film material. Here are the three mistakes of Govind.

1st - He was selfish when he thought about taking his business to bigger city/town ... he thought only of money!

2nd - when he opened the buttons of the blouse that covered Vidya's chest -... then, he thought only about his passions

3rd - when he was late in pouncing on Ali, to save him from Mama ... he was thinking, what if the Trishul hurts him, or if it takes his life instead, like Omi ... So, he spoiled a few moments in thinking about himself and could not save Ali's wrist!!!!

Who is Vidya, Ali, Mama and Omi? Well, I cannot tell you that as that cannot be revealed in this blog. You got to read the book. Its good – all I can say. It is not fabulous like the five-pointer and in the same way it was not as disheartening as the happening in the call center. (I did not like that call from God – but that was what the story was based on)

Like most of the Indian writers, Chetan writes in a flow – I mean to say he does not skip from London to America and back to India in the same paragraph. I have read foreign writers and have found lack of flow in their books – be it French or English. Possible that it happened with the books I read; but this did not happen when I read Indian writers. They are cool – more – and the story flows as we read. I liked the author from his first book. I just cannot forget the time I read that book and the content – oh! How much it matched my life then. I could see Rohan as Ryan in every page of that book. (Well, Max may not feel the same, though)

When I joined this job in this call center, I read the second book. I was able to relate the story with me – until God called. He wasted the thrill and the experience. Why did He call? I think I should ask Chetan to justify; but little can he do, for it was a story told to him. He had no rights to alter the course of the story. He did not. This third story was good too. Involving enough!

A good book (or story) is the one which you can relate with yourself. Chetan had everything in this book which we have seen, felt and understood – right from the shocker (win) in Kolkata in a Cricket test match against Australia to the earthquake in Bhuj until the Godhra massacre. While reading the book, I could imagine being standing in one of those pols in Ahmadabad. Everybody who has been living in India as an Indian for last 10 years could understand the book exactly – as they can relate the events to their lives, as they have been there and done what the characters in the book did. However, I cannot rate this book as the best one of Chetan’s due to some faults – somewhere something was missing.

The story ended abruptly. Debatable! I found it that way. There could have been a more of a role given to Ishan and Vidya at the end. They were like – stone-boy there. They disappeared and appeared just like that. Also, I found too less reasons for Govind to pop pills. He was a strong character – strong enough to soak up all what he went through. He had to be unhappy and sad but no reason to pop pills. He was not Omi, after all. Well, 250 pages was a target number for pages in the book – this is what I felt as I read the last pages. The story in between was detailed very smoothly. The roles were clear and understandable. (The character description of Ali was a bit of concern though – sometimes you feel he is 19 or 21 – but the book says he is 14).

PLUS POINT: It talks about dreams. Dreams of a common man willing to advance in business – do something for his family - a child aspiring to wear the blue Indian jersey or play Test match cricket! The glimpse of Australian etiquette and language has to leave its mark once you read the book. I have already started calling those mosquitoes as mozzies! And what was that? About Siphoning the Python? Hush! I cannot put it here in public blog. There are good spicy interactions apart from the strong backdrop of Indian Small Town Heroes. This is the reason the book will succeed.

[Big flaw]
Page 55: Here the guys go to the derelict bank and drink milk from poly packs. Tell me how you drink milk from a poly pack – consider yourself drinking raw milk, directly from the packet. Hmmm. Now, having done so, you can imagine cutting one of the corners and inserting the cut corner in your mouth. You can never drink from a poly pack as you would if it would have been served in a glass or tumbler. Right? So, if you can’t do that, you won’t get a milk moustache. Got my point? Yes! It was written in there that Omi wiped his moustache, which cannot be. A flaw which could not escape my eyes! Hehehe … enjoy the book folks – you may love it at the end of it!

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