I just finished reading Chetan Bhagat's 'The 3 Mistakes of my life' and would like to pen down my views about the same. Though I haven't read any of the other previews of the novel, I have discussed it with a few close friends. According to them the book lacked one most vital thing which has now become so typical of Chetan Bhagat's novels and that is the sense of identification that they get with his characters. To them the characters seemed unrealistic. I on the other hand beg to differ.
These friends of mine, the so-called 'urban genre' of today probably, I feel, could not connect with the small-town lads and lasses of the novel. I being a small town girl, who shifted to a metropolitan for further studies and job demands tend to identify with both. Even though, I enjoyed the first two novels a lot, I personally feel this one was the best of the lot. For the simple reason that it targets the actual small town masses of my country rather than the small number of metro-bred youngsters of today.
What gets to me most is the simplicity with which the author has so beautifully brought out the dreams and aspirations of a lad who wants to make it big. I almost thought at the beginning that this novel would be another making of a business tycoon who rises from a small town and goes on to achieve fame and money. Somebody of the likes of Dhirubhai Ambani or Ratan Tata. However, the beauty lies in the difference.
The other good thing is the way it unknowingly brings your attention to the Gujrat earthquake and the Godhra riots. I think the novel did more to me than the news channels. I felt the pang of sadness and pain more through these characters than I did hearing about it on TV. The author could easily have chosen a perfect happy ending and I as a reader would have been satisfied with that. But by killing one of the main characters he makes us realise the harsh reality faced by the brave people of Gujrat and how like the characters in the novel they have moved on with their lives. Makes me realise that in real life not everything has a happy ending and you have to accept things the way they are and move on. In this context it somehow reminds me of 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' - conveying a message with a touch of humor and non-superman realistic characters so that the message reaches you clean and clear and not in some too-heavy-to-digest format.
The one more thing that I liked about the novel was that how the main character has this undying spirit to succeed yet not without his near and dear ones. He aims to become a big man, but not by crushing his peers or belittling them but by pushing them forward, all together hand in hand. I think that is one important thing we all have to learn specially the cosmopolitan crowds where the sense of competition is so high that it tends to make you forget, to compete and to envy your own people, your own friends. Move on in life not by squashing others but with your hardwork, sincerity and dilligence, blessing others along the way.
These friends of mine, the so-called 'urban genre' of today probably, I feel, could not connect with the small-town lads and lasses of the novel. I being a small town girl, who shifted to a metropolitan for further studies and job demands tend to identify with both. Even though, I enjoyed the first two novels a lot, I personally feel this one was the best of the lot. For the simple reason that it targets the actual small town masses of my country rather than the small number of metro-bred youngsters of today.
What gets to me most is the simplicity with which the author has so beautifully brought out the dreams and aspirations of a lad who wants to make it big. I almost thought at the beginning that this novel would be another making of a business tycoon who rises from a small town and goes on to achieve fame and money. Somebody of the likes of Dhirubhai Ambani or Ratan Tata. However, the beauty lies in the difference.
The other good thing is the way it unknowingly brings your attention to the Gujrat earthquake and the Godhra riots. I think the novel did more to me than the news channels. I felt the pang of sadness and pain more through these characters than I did hearing about it on TV. The author could easily have chosen a perfect happy ending and I as a reader would have been satisfied with that. But by killing one of the main characters he makes us realise the harsh reality faced by the brave people of Gujrat and how like the characters in the novel they have moved on with their lives. Makes me realise that in real life not everything has a happy ending and you have to accept things the way they are and move on. In this context it somehow reminds me of 'Lage Raho Munnabhai' - conveying a message with a touch of humor and non-superman realistic characters so that the message reaches you clean and clear and not in some too-heavy-to-digest format.
The one more thing that I liked about the novel was that how the main character has this undying spirit to succeed yet not without his near and dear ones. He aims to become a big man, but not by crushing his peers or belittling them but by pushing them forward, all together hand in hand. I think that is one important thing we all have to learn specially the cosmopolitan crowds where the sense of competition is so high that it tends to make you forget, to compete and to envy your own people, your own friends. Move on in life not by squashing others but with your hardwork, sincerity and dilligence, blessing others along the way.
