I was very pleased when my brother gifted me “2 States” as a going-away present. I was even more pleased because both my cousin and his wife had already read the book and could not stop raving about it. I was very excited to explore this novel, especially, since it allowed me to get a glimpse of what kind of stories my cousins in India enjoy and can relate to.
Chetan Bhagat is on the rise among the younger generations in India and has written 5 best-selling novels so far. He has also earned the title of “the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history” by the New York Times. Two of his novels have even inspired Bollywood movies, “3 Idiots” being one of them. After reading “2 States, ” I can vouch for all the hype that surrounds Bhagat.
The novel focuses on the love story of a Tamil girl, Ananya and a Punjabi boy, Krish, who were on a mission to get married. It follows the story line of any typical Bollywood movie, I wish I could say there were dramatic deviations from this fact, but there wasn’t. However, the book was still a great read!
Prior to the couple’s decision to get married, Bhagat offers the readers an in-depth look into the premarital relationship of the two, which caught me by surprise. Trust me, when I say that very few Bollywood movies would include the details Bhagat did when it comes to Ananya and Krish’s relationship. He executed this in a very tasteful and natural way without abusing the topic of premarital sexuality as South Asian media so often tends to do. The story flowed well and there was a good balance between their life before wanting to get married and their mission to make the seven rounds of the fire.