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2 States: The Story Of My Marriage

By Chetan Bhagat

(14)

| Paperback | 9788129115300

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2 Reviews

1 person find this helpful

2 States - very Bollywoodish!

Dear Mr. Chetan Bhagat
Another Bollywood movie in the making
Two States is a story between a couple Ananya and Krish, who meet in college, the reputed IIM-A, and take their relationship forward even though there are from two separate worlds, two different cultures, two different states, a ... (continue)

Dear Mr. Chetan Bhagat
Another Bollywood movie in the making
Two States is a story between a couple Ananya and Krish, who meet in college, the reputed IIM-A, and take their relationship forward even though there are from two separate worlds, two different cultures, two different states, and of course two families, dont think they wanted to relaise in the end they are brother and sister, that would be a story. Actually, the story is as to how the convince their parents to get them married happily, leaving differences aside. very Bollywoodish! You have stopped writing for writing sake, you writing the novels as scripts, dont you deny, Mr Author?
I still like Five Point Someone. It is very easily to relate to the characters that you portray in your books, you see them in trains, you see them in metros, you see them bargaining for vegetables at the local vendor. Except for the fact you bought GOD in One Night @ the Call Centre, was way over board. Your first book gets reflected so very strongly in this, you have made a whole story revolving around it. Last book i remember where same character was repeated was Robert Langdon in Angels and Demons and then in Da Vinci Code. Also, this time you didnt bring in the God element, but to play Safe - a Guruji.
Punjabi vs. Madrasi
I like and dislike the whole North Indian vs. South Indian divide. I like it because it brings in the humour element and very stereotypical characters specially the pubjabi fat, health conscious aunites and at the same time South Indian food. The story lacked the in-depth elements that focused on highlighting the cultures and the differences, but then i believe you must have been told by the publisher / editor / whom so ever, please keep the story below 250 pages, we are not planning to sell the book for more than Rs. 95 wonly. Why was there a hurry to finish the story. I actually skipped a lot of the elements, while reading the book, like i already knew it.
Love Story and delayed marriage
They fell in love way to fast, they got successful careers. On the career end, that is when i started liking the Punjabi mother the most. Her son IIT and IIM graduate and working for a MNC company called Citibank feels upset and she suggests that leave that job, till then i will speak to the Manager of Canara Bank, which is next door.
Love is fast in this movie; oops novel. But then it takes them one and half years to get the things sorted out between their parents and there are no fights between the couple and just basic arguments between them which are solved more amicably and with complete maturity, totally unbelievable. Once, everyone is happy, you take another 4 to 5 months to actually get the date of marriage.
Dedication and possible sequels
I also liked the part in the beginning where you dedicate the book to your in-laws and then you make a very careful, diplomatic acknowledgment to all those Punjabis and Madrasis. Glad you didnt take digs at Marathis, or even better still you didnt fall in love with a Martathi girls or the sales of the pirated copies of the book would be higher and it would be one of the banned book. This should clearly give an idea as to what would be the sequel to this book - 2 States - Second story - Gujarati marrying an Assamese. You are lucky at present India has 28 states and 7 Union Territories, you are a banker, you do the permutation and combination of the number of sequels that one can write.
With fast paced novel, missing north and south elements, 70-yr old Guruji, whooped time-lines, multiple unnecessary brand mentions (my favourite: Citi never sleeps, only makes customers weep) and predictable sub-plots it still makes the pleasant read.
Your reader,

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Mokshjuneja said on Nov 26, 2009 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

2 States - The story of my marriage picks up from 5 Point Someone left. The story narrates the life story of the protagonist post IIT Delhi. Chetan Bhagat mentions that although there is an element of fiction in the book, it has been inspired by his own family and experiences. 2 States is a witty ... (continue)

2 States - The story of my marriage picks up from 5 Point Someone left. The story narrates the life story of the protagonist post IIT Delhi. Chetan Bhagat mentions that although there is an element of fiction in the book, it has been inspired by his own family and experiences. 2 States is a witty story about a North Indian (Punjabi) guy and a South Indian (Tamilian) girl falling in love at IIMA and then later trying to convince their parents and relatives about the marriage and the issues they have to deal with in the process. </p><p>The book like the other books written by Chetan Bhagat are easy to read and are usually written in first person. A good portion of the book speaks the culture in North India vs. South India, the "wedding priorities" of North India vs. South India, the prejudices North Indians have against the South Indians and vice-versa. Although, the observations are on the harsher side, the author added a humorous touch to the observations and it has to be accepted that what has been written is indeed very true!

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Swetha Balla said on Oct 20, 2009 | Add your feedback