Chetan Bhagat's 'Two States'

I just finished reading Chetan Bhagat’s Two States. I have read lot of piping reviews about the book. But didn’t know why I decided to put off reading it. Now, that I have completed it, I feel that a void has suddenly disappeared. Chetan has done a fabulous job. There are writers waiting for a chance to rip him to pieces. They have called him names. They claimed it was luck that made his “ Five point someone” a hit. Some have even questioned, “Why is he even thinking of writing more books?”

My thoughts were much, much on similar lines. With top-seeded writers like Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth, Amitav Ghosh, Shobha De…excelling in this part of the literary world, I thought this guy hasn’t a chance. Not an iota of it. Scripting biographies is different, but when it comes to writing gripping fiction only a few Indians have tread the path successfully. So, I was quite sure in my mind that his books would sink like stone in water.

But Chetan seems to be made up of sterner stuff. He had gone on to prove his detractors wrong with ‘Two States.’ If you are an Indian and understand cross-cultural differences, Chetan’s “Two States’ is a story that rings home perfectly. The story of Krish and Ananya (Initially, I thought which guy would think of names like that and succeed!) are people from typical middle class families. Like all typical middle class families, their parents hate love marriages. Like all typical Indian real life happenings, the story takes you on a whirl-wind of a ride.

With Krish and Ananya hailing from two different regions matters only take to worse. The book subtly puts across these glaring differences in the mindsets. The mismatch in the mental frameworks is absolutely fun to read. Imagine Tamilian and Punjabi families forced to stay in the same room for over an hour and you’ll know that colorful fireworks of a different kind are set to explode.

It’s obvious that Chetan has done a good amount of research, the way he brings in the differences and takes potshots at each others cultural differences is bone tickling. His humour is subtle. I liked the part, where Rajji mama along with his Punjabi clan dance to the Tamil version of the songs from the movie, Gentlemen, at Krish and Ananya‘s engagement. As there weren’t any Hindi CDs available in Tamil Nadu, Rajji mama had to make do with the Tamil version. With drinks taking complete toll, in a fit of excitement, he declares that with a top up of two more drinks everyone of his Punjabi brethren could even understand Tamil words. You couldn’t help but laugh out loud at such outrageous statements. The story is juicy and the humour, juicier.

Chetan Bhagat with his book, 'Two States' has surely won new hearts apart from reinforcing his stand as a good writer to his earlier loyalists. Kudos to him!