https://www.amazon.in/Patna-Blues-Abdullah-Khan/dp/9386228831
BOOKS : PATNA BLUES
AUTHOR: ABDULLAH KHAN
RATING: 4.5 stars
Patna blues is a story about family, dreams, ambitions, love, desire, betrayals, patience, struggle, loss, dreams unfulfilled. It is spread over a period of almost 10 years in the city of patna as the name suggests.
Arif the hero of our story is a young boy with an aspirations to crack IAS(INDIAN ADMINSTRATIVE SERVICE) and improve the circumstances of his lower middle class family and along the way falls head over heels for an older hindu woman but life has other plans for him throwing volley of troubles his way one after the another. It tells you how after so many major setbacks our dreams take new shapes and we satisfy ourselves with the minimal.
In the backdrop we witness the tention between the hindu muslim community, it also touches briefly on the sikh riots that took place in late 90’s.
What i liked…
I loved the story.
i loved the realness of it all,
that not all dreams come true.
I loved the relationship that arif shares with sumitra (a boy high on hormones falling for a damsel in distress, clandestine but keeps you wanting for more).
I loved that author has written this book with an unbiased mindset, about hindu and muslim community and not glorifying the one while putting the other down.
I loved his portrayal of countrysides of India.
I loved the love that Arif has for his family.
The narration is perfect with some very nice hindi songs lines, urdu couplets and words of wisdom from famous poets.
It is a believable account of how India was in 1990’s.
What i did not like..
The story leaves you to join dots on your own, not providing closure. I wanted to know more about what happens to Arif, to sumitra, to his family.
I was given this book by the author in return for my humble review of an extra ordinare book.
If you wanna read it after reading my review … find the link in my bio.
Carpe Diem 