'Roots' is a maiden effort at writing a book by Mr. Rahul Bhatt and he has made an utterly convincing debut. In the preceding 9 months of my book-reviewing career, I have come across 7 debut efforts and among them all, Mr. Bhatt's work stands tall. A book so enriching in plotting its stories and developing its characters that you will ultimately start feeling a part of it. This is a genuine effort at writing a standard novel where the author doesn't let the readers go off the hook even when they finish his work in multiple outings and every time you start picking up on this book, it makes sure it owns you. It's a voluminous book that demands the attention of readers and through it's sheer engrossing narrative and depth, weave magical spells on you.
In the center of this book is the life-stories of Nakua Panditjee and Sarita/Rashmi. Panditjee has his roots in Tehri of old which is as most of us now is under Tehri Lake when the construction of a dam was announced in this town. He had to leave the city quite early in his life for Delhi to make something useful out of his life and as per the profession of his uncle, becomes an astrologer. He is the custodian of an orphan, Aamna who likes to hear his bedtime stories. Sarita has also got her roots in that same town of Tehri but courtesy to her mother, Mira who as get to know later in the book is an old acquaintance-turned-lover of Punditjee. Sarita volunteers for a social service outlet named "helpline' in her pastime where she goes by the name of Rashmi and one day, fatefully, attends to the call of a desperate Panditjee. When she is Sarita, she is a Television producer and currently at helm of an under-production reality TV Show. She has got her Mom, her boss Mr. Sharma and an Assistant named Shelly in her life encircling her and they all get ample space and narratives of their own in the book. Panditjee has got Jaggi, an old acquaintance-turned-friend who is a Guru to masses; Shankar, the engineer who built the dam in his old Tehri and now a close friend and several clients encircling his life. After an unwanted and loathsome departure from his roots, Panditjee is living a troubled, unsatisfactory life where he has the success of a metropolitan citizen but he hasn't got the love of his life standing by her. He turns to Helpline then one day to find the outlet for all his repressed emotions and interacts with Sarita-turned-Rashmi and thus story gets rolling. We also get to know the history of Panditjee's ancestral forefathers and eventually of India's re-birth after its capture by the English. With suitable pauses and intertwined stories, readers go through a mixture of emotions which don't let them devoid of an ultimate one: the joy of readership. This book is enchanting.
Coming to its technical aspects; from the cover to the blurb, everything is designed with metronomic efficiency and beauty. Like the entire narrative, they are simple, elegant and mighty effective. At the end, this novel is a culmination of many humane stories that stem from familiar surroundings of our own and don't seem alien at all like the ones we are often getting to see in many other ambitious writers' writings. It doesn't need this formality to qualify its achievements but I shall like to assign my highest rating to this book.....a 5/5 all the way!!!!
In the center of this book is the life-stories of Nakua Panditjee and Sarita/Rashmi. Panditjee has his roots in Tehri of old which is as most of us now is under Tehri Lake when the construction of a dam was announced in this town. He had to leave the city quite early in his life for Delhi to make something useful out of his life and as per the profession of his uncle, becomes an astrologer. He is the custodian of an orphan, Aamna who likes to hear his bedtime stories. Sarita has also got her roots in that same town of Tehri but courtesy to her mother, Mira who as get to know later in the book is an old acquaintance-turned-lover of Punditjee. Sarita volunteers for a social service outlet named "helpline' in her pastime where she goes by the name of Rashmi and one day, fatefully, attends to the call of a desperate Panditjee. When she is Sarita, she is a Television producer and currently at helm of an under-production reality TV Show. She has got her Mom, her boss Mr. Sharma and an Assistant named Shelly in her life encircling her and they all get ample space and narratives of their own in the book. Panditjee has got Jaggi, an old acquaintance-turned-friend who is a Guru to masses; Shankar, the engineer who built the dam in his old Tehri and now a close friend and several clients encircling his life. After an unwanted and loathsome departure from his roots, Panditjee is living a troubled, unsatisfactory life where he has the success of a metropolitan citizen but he hasn't got the love of his life standing by her. He turns to Helpline then one day to find the outlet for all his repressed emotions and interacts with Sarita-turned-Rashmi and thus story gets rolling. We also get to know the history of Panditjee's ancestral forefathers and eventually of India's re-birth after its capture by the English. With suitable pauses and intertwined stories, readers go through a mixture of emotions which don't let them devoid of an ultimate one: the joy of readership. This book is enchanting.
Coming to its technical aspects; from the cover to the blurb, everything is designed with metronomic efficiency and beauty. Like the entire narrative, they are simple, elegant and mighty effective. At the end, this novel is a culmination of many humane stories that stem from familiar surroundings of our own and don't seem alien at all like the ones we are often getting to see in many other ambitious writers' writings. It doesn't need this formality to qualify its achievements but I shall like to assign my highest rating to this book.....a 5/5 all the way!!!!
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