People born today will win accolades, become famous andwill lead a life of a content man. To add on to your luck, wear a diamond ofthe purest kind!
How many of us have ever thought that one day we will becomefamous, win money through a jackpot or travel the world? Not all but yes a lotof us would have thought about it…what happens when suddenly one day yourdreams like this come true and only you yourself can take credit for it? Thisis what happens in Q and A, the book which I read two days back and which I am trying to review right now!
Q and A is a book which deals with subtlety of life alongwith dash of spice thrown in right measures. It is no way a classic but yes itmakes a fine reading material. The book can easily be adapted to a bollywoodclassic and I am sure it would be a hit as soon as it hits the theatre…that isthe power of Q and A. The book is a first attempt by Vikas Swarup and he hasdone well…he has not tried to make the book usual but constructed it within theparameters of book writing. The author deserves a pat on his back for doingfull justice to the only character he has in his book and entwining the storyaround him.
Q and A is the story of Ram Mohammad Thomas…that is wherethe readers get hooked…is he a Hindu, a Muslim or a Christian…??? Read the bookto discover how he gets this name…I would not spill the beans…he does’nt belong to a religion but yes...he is what a Hindu, a muslim or a christian can be...he is human and he is the hero of this book!
Coming back toRMT, Q and A is his story…how he lands himself in jail…Nopes! No crimes committed, no Murder mysteries…just a simple stroke of luck!!!
RMT wins a quiz show…and wins 1 billion rupees…Applause!Applause! Hey, but he is a waiter…and he would/should/cannot know the answersof the so-called tricky questions of a game show…that is the reason of hisbeing in jail…as simple as that…! Still wondering what went wrong…even RMT soundedas clueless as you all are…just focus on two facts...RMT is in jail and he is a billionaire!
Q and A is a life story of RMT and his ups and downs…when helands up in jail; he doesn’t quite understand as to why he has beenarrested…and as for knowing the answers…he says: “I do not know all theanswers…I was lucky to have been asked the right questions…for which I knew theanswers”…Q and A revolves around how RMT finds answers to relatively difficultquestions through the journey of his own life…his life gives him the biggesthints and he is intelligent enough to recognize them!
Q and A also touches briefly on how deep routed our biasesare…what if a waiter wins a quiz show? What is the trouble when Nicholas Cagemarries a waitress and why all hell breaks lose when a rag picker wins acontest to visit Brazil to meet fellow rag pickers…the last incident reportedtoday in the papers…apparently the airlines did not allow the rag picker totravel because he didn’t fit into the image of a “business traveler”!!!
Strange are our ways and how we think about our fellowhumans…the biases are within us and outside us…and the need of the hour is to overpower them…tomake life much more humane and beautiful!
Biases like these ruin the fabric ofthe society and cannot be trivialized…so...the next time, you see a man whodoesn’t fit in any of your biased images, instead of making faces, saying the rude lines...think of him/her as a human and you would realise the difference!!!
Q and A is not an eye opener…it is not a book which makesyou sit back and laugh out loud not does it make you whimper! It is a simplebook which deals with issues that life hurls each day on us…whether we getlucky or not…depends on you!
Like it or leave it!!!
Comments are welcome…book lovers should read this lighthearted book and I am sure you will enjoy it…for others; you can feelcontent/dissatisfied with the review…your take completely!!! Do remember, eachday is lucky for you…make it your best day!