Chetan greets Shwe...!!

For those of us who are given to an archaic habit called reading, and have been reading Indian writing in English for a last decade or so, Chetan Bhagat (CB) has indeed been a favorite among many, at least among the youth. 

I was eagerly awaiting the next novel from CB after having completed 'Two States' almost three years back, which was his auto-biography about his love story with his second girlfriend Anusha, a fellow classmate from IIM-A, and the odds they face in convincing their respective families for the marriage approval. One roller-coaster of a novel it was. Hmm, me carrying perfect traits of a Libran, die-hard romantic and sensitive, couldn't help but fall in love with the novel which left me crave for more work/novels from CB. Not just for the love stories, the humor, charm, wittiness and above all, his simple but yet smart usage of the language had made me left asking for more.. So, I go pick up his fifth novel, Revolution 2020, from a nearby mall. 

Me - 'How many copies have been sold out in the past four days?'

Guy - 'Madam, we had ordered for 500 copies and here you see the last 6 remaining, and you are one of those lucky customers grabbing it, for we have to wait for another ten days for the copies to arrive. Cash or card?'

Me - I gave a wry smile and said, 'cash' and 'thank you'

Guy - 'Our pleasure Ma'am, happy reading.'

Very little did I know what the guy had wished me at the end while billing, would turn out to be heart wrenching at the end. I smiled, blushed, smirked, did all of it along with the characters of the novel and could sense the scenes happening right in front of me, such is the connection CB bestows on his readers while reading. Wonder what people around would have contemplated about me with their continuous gaze, but I didn't bother much and continued reading, be it in public transport Volvo's or during class hours. By and large, I was addicted to it. For those of you who haven't read the novel yet, hold your horses, I'm not going to uncover the story for you. For, I feel you should read it for yourself. But to give a gist of it, it's about two guys and a girl, their dreams, ambitions, friendship, love, relationships, sacrifice, a midst corruption. There's nothing revolutionary about the novel, since like any other Indian, CB is also prone to corruption and he believes India will be corrupt-free and a great place to live in, in the near future. 

On the verge of completion of the novel, Mr.CB introduces a twist which even a bollywood-masala movie can't produce. As I read on, tears roll by and here I'm at the end of the novel. Deep anguish and anger running through me thinking why on earth had he had to twist the fairy-tale story. Frantically, I take my laptop, log into Twitter, FB to reach out to CB and tell him how he made me feel at the end. To no avail, I couldn't reach out to him on either of the two social networking sites. Then www.chetanbhagat.com struck my mind, logged onto the Fancafe to post my feedback and I was successful this time around. Read on..

Dear CB, 

I hail from Bangalore and pursuing BE from VKIT, B'lore. I have been following your novels since teenage and have read all of them, Must say, all have turned out to be super hits. When I'm reading your novels, I must admit I easily connect to you as though I have known you since years. You were born to be a writer, hats off, you inspire youngsters like me who are passionate about trying their hands at writing. I just finished your R2020 novel, couldn't do more than weeping off at the end. Never expected it to be a turnaround at the last minute, why did you make it a sad ending, for I guess it would have lost its sheen had it been a happier one. Its said 'sacrifice is the true measure of love' which you proved in your do. Immensely touching and emotional. I cant wait to read your next novel. Please write for us, more and more, because you are simply superb at it. And I am not even sure if this feedback of mine will reach you and you will see it, if it does please do revert back. Waiting for response.

Your biggest Fan!

Days passed by and I gradually tried to get back to reality pacifying myself its only fiction, novel or perfectly suited to be a bollywood movie. 'Self-consoling'. As I returned from college one day, I got a beep on my phone. Guess what! An e-mail notification. Mail from the man himself :) I screamed my lungs out, composing myself, I went onto read..

Hi Shwetha Sharma,

Thank you so much for your valuable feedback on my work. Makes me happy when my readers say they enjoy reading my books.

Keep your support.

Hope you are doing fine in bangalore.

love,

Chetan 

My happiness knew no bound, I danced, rejoiced, celebrated in my own way so much so that I had almost forgotten the agony, distress I was into after reading the novel. 

PS: As such I always was passionate towards writing, blogging, but my curriculum never spared time for me. But this time around, after the novel and a modest reply from CB, I was inspired to the core and thought let me discuss CB in my first official blog. I now have a new e-mail friend !! Wink ;)