Book Review: 2 states

It was last Saturday evening at around 6pm when there were 2 hours to go for the Deccan chargers Vs Somerset something match to begin when I decided to read this new book by Chetan Bhagat: 2 States. Well, to be frank, the last two books of Chetan Bhagat did disappoint me although they were blockbusters. Both didn’t have the magic that Five point someone had. I was eagerly waiting for a book that would captivate me at the same level as Five point someone did. So with this expectations I started reading. It took six and half hours for me to read this book and I almost forgot about the match. I only got to see the last ball of the match. I should say, the book exceeded all my expectations.

The friendship turned love, proposing for marriage etc. was all wrapped up in Act 1, wasting no time in directly getting into what he intended to tell in this book. The story is about a Punjabi guy trying to convince the parents of a Tamil Brahmin girl and then convincing his Punjabi Parents to accept the “Madrasi” girl and her Family. Over the course of the book, the author compares the culture between Punjabis and Tamil Brahmins in his own style. The book also tells about the perception of one community on another, again it’s in his own style. The book also teases the South Indians and the North Indians alike, their lifestyle, food habits, perception of a good bride/ groom etc.

The book is divided into several Acts based on the place of occurrence of these incidents. I somehow missed the headings at the beginning of the chapters such as Bare beginnings, Operation Pendulum, Cooperate to dominate etc. But overall it was a wonderful read. It’s funny, as usual, and the description of characters are so good that they seem to live next door. I loved all the characters in this book specifically the female lead: Ananya. And many references from his first book Five point someone was a boon to this story and all the references were tickling memories of reading that book. It seemed like a sequel to Five point someone. To someone who hasn’t read Five point someone, it is advised to read this book after reading that. That way it would be more enjoyable.

On a slightly different note, in this book Chetan has forgotten to thank Microsoft Office this time. As in the introduction, he says the story was inspired from his own experiences, and if some of the incidents are true, then Microsoft Office had a big role in his marriage in preparing power point presentations for his father in law, Getting letters typed in MS Word for his father etc. He should be grateful to Mr Bill Gates!