I spent a whole day reading this book and have eventually realized that this book has the appeal when it comes to translating FICTION TO REALITY. I will care less if people dont agree to what is told in the book.
The book starts with Radhika Mehta a high achiever earning lot of money, having a opinion on everything and having past relationships The questions she asks through out the whole book to herself is if anyone out there in the male chauvinistic society really likes her. She is confused about the expectations and hence the identity crisis that she goes through is written well in the book. Well i am for sure there are few takers out there who will ever get married to a girl who makes more than the male counterpart. It is after all a clash of the male ego. Money is the only factor in the relationship that emasculates a man because of his growing insecurity. The character Debashish Sen has done justice to the whole Unconscious Insecure Man. There is even a word that is given to such women "BALL BUSTERS." I liked the part when during groom hunting she realizes that many men share the same reaction especially Dr. Bakshi who she contacts via Skype.
Apart from that the whole concept of it in the book has a real life appeal to it that will sicken many. The whole nupital match process via Matrimonial services is just nothing but another "JOB INTERVIEW." The sooner or later you realize that the better in terms of dealing with it. I feel that the word "Aesthetic" screams out loud and wants to make itself heard in the book. Well the variation for aesthetic for Indian Men and Women may mean different although there is not a big variation.
The emphasis of a fair skin and the comparison of fair skin to wheatish skin is done well. White skin is perceived as beautiful and the mothers anguish in getting her daughter married due to lack of it resonates through out the whole book. I feel that men have all subconsciously wired into giving importance to bigger boobs, color of the skin than brains. I really couldn't stop laughing when Radhika Mehtas third voice acknowledges the fact that Punjabi men like breast in the size of a football than brains. It is just not the male the female too has mental check boxes when it comes to getting married. In the book she would not prefer to get married to a man who is planning to do a MBA via correspondence, joint family or a family business. All i guess have created a mental image of what they want to associate with both Men and Women equally. The whole courtship process i feel has only a Materialistic appeal to it. As long as you are branded well you have skin in the game. It is just like any other Business economic principle.
When it comes to courtship i recently heard a celebrity having his take on it. Courtship does not exist in the real world. At the end of the day when the dust settles it is "WHAM BAM THANK YOU MAM." This book may mean many things to many. All will never reach to a same conclusion of what is really going on. A feminist will have her take on it and a male chauvinist will have his. I feel at the end it is going to be a big variation in terms of Take home message that the book has to give.
For me,
1. I never expected to come in contact with Erotica as past Chetan Bhagats books dont really have much of it. The comparison of sex to greasy French Fries and 4 course French Gourmet meal was done well. I never saw that coming. Such things are really out there and men get intimidated on seeing Females past flames. For eg Big Bang Theory shows Wolowitz getting intimated with Bernadettes x.
2. All have a inner me. A little mini me that has a opinion for everything. No one is really honest about inner thoughts. FAKE IT AND SAY IT is what it is. Radhikas mini me (Third voice in the book was good). I liked the inner me concept a lot. There are 3 voices in a person. First voice knows everything, Second voice thinks about what to say and the last is speech which is spoken.
3. Man who can woo dont need to oblige and the Man who cant needs to oblige. Many men may fall in category of men obliging.
4. Women/Men wear clothes to attract attention. The line Indian girls transform themselves from party chicks in short dresses to fully clad chaste vigoral bhajan attendees is almost a visual affect.
5. Greed and Investment banking go together. Long term greed is a principle of Goldman Sachs.
6. Men who say that woman should be on par with a man is loosely thrown to impress a female. In real private life of a man the very concept would not be entertained. Man will change when such hard and fast rules are applied to them. Eg given in the book is Debashish Sen.
7. Men prefer to live with a open minded girl but when it comes to marriage and raise kids a Simple Indian Female is preferred. They just cant see the extrovert being the mother of their kids.
8. The whole life of a man is incentive based. All see at incentives that a relationship brings. Once successful they take things for granted they will always easily move on. Once they realize that all future ventures like this will culminate in failure they come back to their senses. Eg Neel Gupta and Debashish Sen trying to change Radhika Mehtas mind during her marriage.
9. Mind will play games with you. If it wants you to do something it will find 100 different rasons to justify it and make sense.
10. Emotions cloud your judgement.
11. The last is and which should always be respected is that both Men and Women want to seek pleasure in whatever they do. No one should be stopped in seeking pleasure which otherwise then would eventually end up as a character in One Indian Girl.
The book says that Men want Sex and a career and Woman a career and kids. A man cant live with one of it neither can a woman is all what the book is trying to convey.
I at the end feel that this book to a greater extent has a appeal when it comes to translating fiction to reality.
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