The 3 mistakes of my life, another book by Chetan Bhagat written for Indians based on real events of an Indian. The characters of his book are young, passionate, ambitious and above all they are friends with the all those morals and ethos that of an Indian household. After the success of FPS and One nite @call centre, Bhagat has succeeded in scripting another story to be turned into a future blockbuster.
This is the story of Govind who has an acumen for maths and accounting, who's keen to be a businessman. They say business is in veins of Gujarat. It is a story of Ishaan, a military school dropout who quits army for his fervour for cricket. And there is Omi who unlike his father doesn't want to be a priest. This book is a combination of cricket, politics, religion, friendship, trust, mistakes and last but not the least, the most vital element of Bhagat's writing- love!
Story begins dramatically with author receiving an e-mail from Govind, a boy from Ahemdabad who took many sleeping pills and is on death bed. Author gets startled after receiving the mail and tracks down the guy from his e-mail ID and with the help of one of his professors at IIM. Govind narrates all the incidents of past that make this book 'The 3 mistakes of my life'.
Govind sets up a cricket shop to realize his dream of being a businessman and to support his friends to have a career of their choice and what added further to their business was Maths coaching given by Govind and cricket classes by Ishaan. And then Ishaan comes in contact with Ali, a young 12 years old child whose every strike results in a six due to hyper-reflex action of his brain. Guiding Ali and making him a star cricketer becomes Ishaan's goal of life. Another important character of the story is Omi's maternal uncle, Bittoo mama who is a communal party member who's keen to use the three young men to incite the communal feelings among the common masses for party's advantage. And then is Govind's love for his best friend's sister which is a violation of the unsaid protocol among men. Their lives take a turn when the city burns in the fire of the communal riots. Govind faces a nightmare when his betrayal comes in light with Ishaan knowing about Govind's unacceptable love for his sister and situation becomes grave with the loss of Omi. Govind's life is too messed up to pull through and he decides to give away his life.
Chetan Bhagat has touched the heart of Indian youth and a man remembering him in the last minutes of his life proves it.
The novel has dealt with issues like Bhuj earthquake and the Godhra issue very sensitively. It has got all the elements for a perfect bollywood flick. All in all, this book is ideal for whiling away with time, a simple, lucidly written book that one can finish reading in one go. Not as excellent as FPS, yet worth givin a try!!!!!
My ratings for this book: 7 on a scale of 10
The 3 mistakes of my life: book review
on Sunday, June 15, 2008Maximum City: book review
on Friday, May 23, 2008
Maximum City- best non fiction book on Mumbai. Mehta left Mumbai when he was 14 and then he returned 21 years later to re-discover the city. The suburbs of Mumbai and people dwelling there make Suketu's Bombay. Author jots down his own experiences with the city. Mehta cavorts around the gangsters, the bar girls, the movie makers, the cable-men, top cops of Mumbai, the politicians and persuades them to come out with their stories and piles up those stories into an engrossing narrative. Every single detail presented by the author in a magnificent way would keep the readers absorbed from the beginning to the end. One can't just put it down. The book is an excursion of the city which happens to be the largest and the most ruined metropolis of the country.
Mehta has divided the whole book in 3 major sections each focusing the irreplaceable aspects of the city. Every section deals with the subject well.
Author makes an opening with his childhood memoirs. His journey from Bombay to New York, Paris, London and back to Bombay turned into Mumbai to get back to the personal geography redefined makes a good outset. Mehta is stunned to see the changes city has witnessed ever since he left. His sojourn with the gangsters- Sunil, Satish and others(all names changed), the powerful people like Bal Thackrey, bar dancers like Monalisa(name changed), top cops like Ajay Lal(name changed), luminaries from bollywood like Vidhu Vinod Chopra and his experiences with them make an account through rest of the pages.
On the whole, Maximum City is a stunningly written prominent book which lets one explore the dark sides of the vivid and gaudy Mumbai with a sensual gratification.
An enjoyable masterpiece on mumbai-the maximum city!!!!!!!
Rating for this book as a non-fiction : 9.5/10
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