Chetan Bhagat has always been an entertaining modern writer ever since his first novel "Five Point Someone". His novels are usually full of fun in every page. His latest offering "2 States" is no different. This novel narrates the love and marriage of Krish and Ananya from Punjab and Tamilnadu respectively.
I think by now you’d have read endlessly how the book is story of a Punjabi guy n a madrasi girl who are iim passout & decide not to elope but woo their respective & each other’s families to accept their partner & the ensuring chaos.
So there is Krish right out from IIM ahemdabad getting Chennai as his first placement & then bringing the girl Ananya to delhi for her typical Punjabi mother’s approval.
Story of’course begins on their first day of IIM when we’re told girl is breathtaking beautiful n our hero an IIT to IIM product, Girl is tamilian Brahmin n boy a Punjabi munda. Now there is one point Chetan bhagat remembers to incorporate in all his novels, there has to be absolutely nothing special about his hero i.e. he has to be a commoner n he gets to have sex with the girl. Story n friendship move forward & our hero avoids being Reject no 14 instead he becomes the Campus hotties B/friend. Rejects because our heroine has had 13 proposals in first 2 days that too from IITians. Sex is much less descriptive this time because he thought people might have his wife in mind…..but it is there c’mon he has to sell the book but this time he avoided the topic that guys do it only for sex n all that stuff you see he has a wife to go home to!!!
Last day both get plum jobs n my my our hero has 4 lac /yr package ,god it was in 90’s yaar I tell you a iim degree is worth its weight in gold!!! Though our author plays down it & attaches no unnecessary significance to this fact.
There is light humour all along the way but when krish lands in Chennai as first posting to woo his g/f’s parents that’s when our author lets himself go n all thing we’ve been taught about madrasis living in delhi since birth are picturised. Chetan left no stone unturned to make fun of madrasis & anything remotely related to their culture but sometimes you enjoy the cheesy stuff. You’re bound to like 1 or 2 take on southindians because we’ve laughed since childhood on their antics be it eating rice with hands or their uncle type movie heroes. The girls family hate him whole heartedly but but but.. wait here our hero has something for everyone so iit coaching for her bro gives him entry in her house , a ppt presentation for his office makes him his father’s hero & a chance to sing along with legends for her vocal mother brings everyone to his side.
South India done now the story shifts to delhi where our hero n heroine land up to find a wary Punjabi mother who is convinced this gori madrasan is out to get his son & mourning the financial loss they will suffer because he marries an outsider considering the prospects that are coming for her son have 6 petrol pumps n all. Comes a plush Punjabi wedding they all attend where author underlines again n again how Punjabis like to showoff thought it becomes boring after a while. Boy’s father has been kept a shady character from the start that has change of heart later but there is no explanation of his character maybe chetan just wanted to finish the novel off.
Somehow both of them manage their parents to come to a sightseeing tour so that they get to know each other well but the meeting is a disaster.
Krish’s Dad stepping in last moment (more details removed from this review) was a surprise element for me in the book, who saves our suicidal hero.
Overall I love the book and couldn’t stop laughing during my whole read :)
