#BookReview :: An Unequal Harmony by Souvik Gupta

02 April 2011: While the Indian cricket team fights on the Wankhede grounds to create history, two men engage in a game of words to determine the future of their lives. Reva a celebrated socialite journalist and Anshuman Mehra creative director of Indias most popular advertising agency are a happily married couple till a car accident relegates Reva to the ICU and reveals to Anshuman the biggest secret of their lives Siddharth Kashyap. A reputed fashion photographer, Siddharth had met Reva a year and a half after the Mehras got married. But what started off as a formal professional association soon morphed into a friendship that transformed into love. As Revas health swings between crisis and recovery, Anshuman and Siddharth retrospect their lives and associations with the woman who bound them together. It is through their reminiscence of the relationships and interaction with each other that we traverse through their meetings, their feelings, their heartbreaks, their dilemmas and their insecurities. However, what looms large is one pertinent question can Reva love two people at the same time?

I have to admit… I was skeptic about picking this one up as I was expecting this to be yet another love triangle where lust would turn out to be the focus of the plot. Can you blame me after checking out the titles on the best-sellers list of Indian Fiction? But then this came recommended and the person recommending this book seldom comments and so I was intrigued.

An Unequal Harmony is the story of three people involved – Siddharth, Anshuman and Reva. But the main protagonist is Reva as she is married to one and involved with the other. The story starts with the three characters being in an accident and landing up in a hospital. As the story progresses and we get to know the characters, we soon realize what the story is actually about. It is not about adultery or even a love triangle as such… but the focus is whether it is possible for one person to be in love with two people at the same time. Also, who will Reva end up choosing?

The book grabs your attention at the very beginning and maintains a certain hold throughout. The characters are very matured and yet they develop throughout the story. The plot, though predictable, has its charms too. But the USP of this book is the way the author has narrated this story to us. Seamless flow and simple language makes the book easy to get into and also has a dash of humour incorporated into it. The author has also questioned us all on all that we know and feel about love.

This made for an interesting read and certainly a great product from a debut author.