12 August, 2013

#BookReview :: A Maverick Heart: Between Love and Life by Ravindra Shukla

Resonance -  We often use the term, “frequency matching” in our daily life to define compatibility. Our frequency does not match, we do not get along? We are not in sync? We are not on the same page etc? When people of similar frequencies (wavelengths or within the same range) come together – output is not a simple sum of individual work, but exponential. In science we term this phenomenon as resonance. Output at this stage is beyond any logical limit. Three young kids, with different family backgrounds and outlook meet during their graduation days at IIT-Bombay campus and become close friends. Although, individually they are in sync, but the same is not true for their interaction with the world. How will their relation withstand the conflict of family and society pressure? How do their character shape out, as they traverse from an educational environment through the corporate world to the realm of the social-political world? Inspired by the real events across the globe from the last decade, Ravindra Shukla brings you the characters based story – struggle and triumphs of a young generation and their relevance in the current socio-eco-political era.


Rahul and Richita meet on campus. She is the reflection of a modern girl with a hint of traditional values. He is dynamic and socialist. They fall in love. They are separated. Richita gets married and moves on to US while Rahul starts working on social issues at grass root level. There’s a third party in the novel – Neerav is Rahul’s best friend and thus becomes friends with Richita too. The story spans beyond their lives on campus and includes the trials and tribulations of each character over a period of time. The question is… what happens to each of them ultimately – do Rahul and Richita ever meet again? Even after the different paths that their lives have taken them on – will the ever reconnect?

IIT – Bombay Campus, three friends, love-friendship-drama… Sounds familiar? Yeah well, this seems to be the only outline/formula that out modern Indian writers can work around and as a result this book is the umpteenth novel with the same ‘masala’. But hang on – this book has a different aftertaste... For once, the story encompasses more than just a sleazy love affair and mind numbing heartbreak. This story has dealt with a couple of issues and characteristics of modern India. For instance Rahul’s encounter with corrupt politician by way of his social work, flawed education system in India, a woman’s dilemma in choosing between her parent’s wish and following her own heart, etc. It was interesting to see such issues being handled in guise of popular fiction.

The characters were each very distinct and well developed. The narration style and editing could do with some more work input. Overall, it was interesting, fun and light read.


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"This review is a part of the Readers Cosmos Book Review Program. To get free books visit thereaderscosmos.blogspot.com"

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for your review. Good to see you could relate to the content and issue.

    Ravindra

    ReplyDelete