ON@TCC

Contemporary Indian fiction, despite the waves it's been making globally, is something I'm not very familiar with. I haven't read much of what Rushdie, Vikram Seth or Arundhati Roy produce (except for extracts in India Today/Outlook). So, when Sittu recommended this book to me, I was a bit sceptical, one of the reasons being the hype it was generating ever since it was launched (with ads on MTV to boot!). Anyway, there was no harm in giving it a try & I don't regret the decision.

Started the read on the Friday morning commute to the office, continued on the way back home & had finished it by 1 a.m. on Saturday. It's a compelling read, no doubt, not the least because it deals with issues that confront the average North Indian guy like me today. As a result, one tends to identify a lot with what the protagonist is going through. I especially liked his views on girls & relatives.

Besides, the character 'Vroom' was almost created to represent me, what with his love for autos, news & his views on money (although the way he changes girlfriends every 3 months, is something totally alien to me, I can't seem to make even one!).

All in all, Chetan Bhagat seems to have done a good job of bringing out the issues confronting the youth of this country today (& it's about time somebody did that). I think I'll go ahead & read his first book, 'Five Point Someone' too, now that I'm hooked. Thanks once again for the book Sittu & hope you won't mind lending me FPS too ;-)