2 States - The story of my marriage

Author: Chetan Bhagat
Publisher: Rupa
Price: Rs 95
Pages: 269

Eisha Sarkar
Posted on Thursday on Mumbai Mirror on November 19, 2009 at 06:06:47 PM

The IIM-Ahmedabad campus, a Punjabi IIT graduate, a Tamilian Economics major, a little bit of mush and sex, a lot of family drama and finally, a wedding - that's pop-fiction author Chetan Bhagat's latest offering for you. This is Bhagat at his best. In 2 States (note that all his titles have a number), he doles out the old Bollywood story of a North Indian boy and South Indian girl, sets it in the backdrop of India's elite business school, Citibank and HLL, adds a 'personal touch' (this is, after all, the story of his marriage) and finds fans responding, "Please upload your wife's photograph. I am eager to see her," on his website.

It's little wonder Bhagat is India's bestselling English writer. He writes in a language people can understand. He hits the jackpot with marriage as a theme. We take our marriages very seriously. As the book's back cover mentions, "Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. Girl's family has to love boy. Boy's family has to love girl. Girl's family has to love the boy's family. Boy's family has to love the girl's family. Girl and boy still love each other. They get married."

So the story's not really about marriage but how Krish Malhotra from Delhi and Ananya Swaminathan from Chennai (the two protagonists) actually get there. It actually kicks-off when things turn sour at their IIM convocation ceremony. Their parents meet for the first time and disapprove of the relationship. The rest of the story is about how they try to win back their to-be in-laws after a series of futile attempts. Like all love stories do, this one also has a happy ending.

Though Bhagat's potrayal of paneer-eating, party-loving Punjabis and Carnatic connoiseur Tamilians is stereotyped, it works because it allows for visual imagery. The book itself is a good read. It's quick-paced and light thanks to a good dose of colloquial humour) and is perfect for a short train or bus ride.

What it lacks is an element of surprise. The book takes off from where Five Point Someone ended. Only it isn't as good. That 'geeks' too have a heart and can deeply fall in love with someone is not new anymore. So is the fact that the male protagonist comes from a dysfunctional family. The other characters seem like they have stepped out of one those 1990s Bollywood family dramas. After a point, even the humour isn’t funny. You keep reading the book hoping Bhagat will pull something out from his hat and you're left disappointed.
Read 2 States like you would watch a masala Hindi flick and you may actually like it. Don't look for anything cerebral; don't expect much and you'll have a smile on your face when it ends.