This photo in the cover page of a novel not only caught my
eyes but also made me think unusually more. A girl with some shoulder long
hairs in classical forck-surwal like dress is hugging a man slightly taller
than her. Their legs are apart balancing themselves. The body touches lovingly.
And above, her forehead is just touching his nose. How romantic! The other half
of the photo shows the girl is simultaneously catching left hand of other guy
with her right one. I automatically start analyzing the psychology of these
three and possible content of the novel as well.
Does the boy, possibly boyfriend have any idea who he is
with? What’s going to happen in near future about his relationship? Are there
clues in his real life for upcoming disaster that he is ignoring?
And the other boy, is he sure the girl will come to him? And why is she coming?
Is he richer, smarter or something else? Even more, is he sure that the girl
dumping her current boyfriend for him won’t dump himself too for someone else
better than him? Or is he happy to be a time-pass until she wants?
What about the girl herself? What is she thinking with her master piece human
brain? Will swapping the boy with his hands around her waist would be easy for
her? Moreover, has she got similar previous experience thus pretty confident?
Would she like her ex to know she had parallel boyfriend or will try to make him
understand that her new affair started only after they broke up?
Even more, what’s the novel about? Is this like a classical Hindi-film story?
Two boys, one socially and personally good other morally and ethically bad, some
drama in middle, and finally the good one get the girl… Perhaps not! Then is
the girl central character of a tragedy story with boyfriends- before the
hugged guy as well and also after the other guy in queue? I doubt. This would
be a cheap story for a professional writer like “Chetan Bhagat”.
After the series of such questions ran in my mind, I needed
to know the answer. And the answer was just there. Thus I opened the novel “Revolution
2020” and started reading and completed it within 10 hours or so. I noticed
during the novel that the pictures of temples, rowing boat etc. as well in
cover page were closely related to the story.
I remember a famous Nepali quote, that suggest to “visit Gorkha
for justice and visit Kashi for education”. This is the story of same place
Kashi, Vranasi being the new name of it. It is story of childhood friends who
are coming towards relationship. “Did u have your dinner?” a question being
asked every night since past 5 years or so is fascinating him nowadays. The character explains that he wanted her to tell her not to
hold his hands publicly now. It is fine at twelve but not at seventeen. Even
though, he liked it more at seventeen then at twelve. A silent love existed in
heart of both. After intermediate, they fight for engineering scholarship
entrance. The girl is poor student with no hope. The boy is good student but was
not proved to be good enough. He was not selected by some six marks. His best
friend was selected. Story twists and the best friend becomes new boyfriend of
the girl. This incident changes him drastically and makes him alcohol abuser.
He claims that the only way to get rid of an unpleasant feeling is to replace
it with other unpleasant feeling. May be he is true up to some extent but not
admirable. As a reader I felt pity on his Devdas
style. I remember an incident during my posting at department of psychiatry.
The resident doctor was counseling a guy being depressed after breakup. He
suggested not to forget her but eternally accept as you never even knew her. I
wish there was someone in this character’s life as well who would appropriately
council him and bring him in right track. I could feel that- continuing to love
her as he did or to hate her for what she did, both the way he was going to get
hurt, get burned. However, after being failed in entrance, some change comes in
his life and he ends up having some political links. He uses it opens an
engineering collage and gets unusually rich. The best friend being selected in
entrance is economically left behind. Now again the girl twists, and come back
to her childhood friend. She asks him to tell her boyfriend, “We decided
to get together, but only did so after the break-up” so that he won’t know she
had parallel relation with other one for some time.
Do you really want to be a doctor or an engineer by your own
eternal interest? This question is of no meaning to a student of lower middle
class or middle class family. They just want a profession that could earn them
living. Medicine or engineering does that. This is true for many students and
professionals who are not from ‘the one percent’ class. I was really touched while
going through these claims in the novel.
I wrote about some unfair means used in establishment of
medical college in Nepal in my previous article. This boy too, while opening an
engineering collage bribes plenty of officials. He uses- Unfair means to get
land cleared from court issue. Unfair means to rezone the agricultural land to
build collage. Unfair means to register the collage. Unfair means to approve
the proposal of collage by University Grants Commission. Unfair means to get
building plan approved. Unfair means to lure the members in inspection. Unfair
means to get approved from regulatory council. Unfair means to get university affiliation.
Unfair means to get number of students increased. Unfair means for publicity to
get students. Even more… unfair means to get the pass out students have job,
right after collage. The novel introduces honest people who didn’t take money
but none of them were honest enough to stop others from taking it. I really
find it interesting and close to reality in our context too.
I thank the author for his extensive research for this novel. The mixture of love and corruption makes the novel really
good and makes you enjoy reading. The way corruption is shown, it is very
strong story in a communist or socialist view. But the way girls are shown, the
story can be criticized in feminist view. I doubt if the girls will appreciate
such story. Yet I personally find it somehow close to reality in our part of
world. The language of novel as well is easy for us, the Asian people. After
some dozen of Nepali, this one was my first English novel and I didn’t
struggled with its language at all. Over all, this book was good enough and
makes you understand some real part of current world. The novel keeps you sad
almost throughout the story. The last few pages crush the heart even more. I
consider this a “good to read” novel but not a “must read” one. My personal
rating for it would be ‘4’ out of ‘5’.
This would be good for your next vacation...
