In Search of Heer

The whole world loves a lover.
The more impossible his quest for love seems to them, the more they love him for it.!

Heer and her Ranjha. I'm still unsure of where I heard about them, yet the names seem very familiar to me. And that's the only reason I picked this book, to find out their story.

When someone asks you about historic lovers, who will you name?
Let me guess...Romeo-Juliet? Laila-Majnu? Devadas-Parvati?
And why only these names? Because they have sacrificed their own lives for love. 

Their love story might have ended in a terrible way, but they still remained great lovers in the history of love. And apart from that one point that "they sacrificed their lives for love", I don't think most of us actually know why and how it happened. Agree?
But apparently, all the above great lovers have a similar story template, which goes like this: "Two lovers who could not live together because of umpteen number of reasons, choose to die together".

Now Heer and her Ranjha also come under the same category of "Great Lovers of History". And even their story follows a similar pattern. But this book retells their story, by adding some modern ingredients in multiple angles. 

In Search of Heer by Manjul Bajaj is one of the many versions of the Heer-Ranjha love story. And a dramatic story like this will never be only about two people. You will see through their love from many viewpoints, in which, most of the story is described by Heer and Ranjha, on how they feel about each other. And the other parts by a crow, a pigeon, and a goat as testimonials for their bond, which gives a distinct perspective to the story.

Heer, like her name suggests, is a gem of a girl. Her father raised her like a warrior. And she became one. She is not only beautiful and elegant but also most importantly, brave and bold. Being a chieftain's daughter, she is privileged to possess the extra-power which no other girl in the town has. But she always used it wisely to help others, who are in trouble. Never did she imagine that there comes a day when no one stands by her side.

Coming to Ranjha, he is the youngest kid in his family of 11 kids. Being cheated by the same family members after his beloved father's death, he did not care enough to stay any longer with them. He starts his journey in search of Heer to make her his bride. 

One meeting and that's it. Both of them knew that they are destined to be together and their match is made in heaven. But between heaven's wishes and earth's encounter with them, lies a huge unchartered terrain along which they have to make their own way cautiously, step by careful step.

And the huge unchartered terrain is this, which is common for any other love story - unacceptance from society, family pressures, secret meetings, so on and so forth.

Yet, if you ask me the one best thing that I liked about this book, I would say the portrayal of Heer's character. Her feministic attitude. Challenging the societal rules, not afraid to speak her mind. Everything about her is admirable.

But, how much ever strong she is.....

A woman is not a man, even if she is a warrior like Heer. She still bleeds each month. She cannot simply run away and live a life on the road. Her body's curse goes with her. She needs to be private in those days.
Even a temple or a mosque will not allow her in, because she is unclean. 

Don't you think it is unreasonable, that the maker should turn his back on the body he created, during those days?

Concluding, the story is not just about Heer and Ranjha's love. It also depicts what patriarchy can do to a society. If societal acceptance is one thing which both(Heer & Ranjha) never expected or never cared about, then how can they live in the same society? Or will they live at all??

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P.S:- I never liked a crow in my life as much as I liked its role in this book.😂
And I'm sure you will love it too.!

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Happy Reading !!

Source: Amazon - Kindle Edition

One Indian Girl

I have to tell you about this bad habit of mine...

I have this little person, this inner mini-me who keeps chattering about every situation or person around me. Sometimes, this mini-me overwhelms me so much I have to think hard to remember what just happened!

One Indian Girl from Chetan Bhagat is the one and only Indian book so far, which I re-read. And I liked it, even more, this time. Maybe I became a little thoughtful;)

The first time I read this, it was just a random pick. And I got excited soon after reading the prologue. I was in the office and my first project in my first company was ending soon and I had some free time. So I started reading at my desk and continued while I walked in the corridor, then in the cafeteria, and literally in every possible place. Finally, I completed it in a day! (or maybe in two days). 

And I'm sure! Whoever noticed me that day in my office, would have definitely thought about me as some weird creature. Because the only thing I did was to stare at my mobile!

Anyway, post that, I was not able to read any other book for at least a week. But instead, started thinking and dreaming. I don't remember what I was thinking but I do remember my state of mind. It was as if I achieved something just by reading this book, which is definitely silly! But the point is, it inspired me a lot. More than I can put it in words.

Coming to my second time reading, it was more of a 'you-need-this-right-now' kind of a pick. I am fed up with choosing my next read, out of umpteen number of choices that I have. And I am desperately searching for some motivation in my life for not-so-obvious reasons. So I need a book that inspires me and yet not a self-help one. And here it goes...my right pick!

On a side note, thanks for sparing me till here for my blah-blah! 

Jumping straight to the storyline...

Radhika is a nerd(more than me!), who only focused on studies and NOTHING else, ever since her childhood. As something which is expected from every nerd, she lands up in a high-paying job in New York soon after her MBA. Now, this is the start of her real life. She decides to enjoy her life and live it on her own terms. 

If it is too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true !!

And eventually, she gets into and comes out of two serious relationships, only to end up settling for an arranged marriage. Because, you know....irrespective of how much a girl earns or how much she achieves, marriage is the only thing which gives her parents, true satisfaction (At least for most of the Indian parents)

(Off-story)
No one asks a 25-year married woman, what she is doing or what did she achieve. But a question of whether she is married or not definitely pops up as soon as you see a 25-year successful woman. But again, no one to blame here. It's just the mindset that most of us adopted!

Anyway, back to the story, where are we?

Well, yaa..so it's a 5-day destination wedding in Goa with 200 guests. This was the first destination wedding in Radhika's family and I guess you can imagine the excitement among her relatives. 

Now, what happens when both her exes turn up at her wedding?
How will she react?
Or even bigger question......Who will she marry??

Read 'One Indian Girl', not only to know who this Indian girl is and who she finally marries, but also to get inspired just like me. 

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P.S:- Before you ask me, let me clearly tell you one thing. Inspiration is a relative word. Also, the book which inspired me might not inspire you and you might not even like it in the first place. So it's fine. Don't read any book with expectations. But give it a good try.

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Happy Reading !!

Source: Amazon - Kindle Edition