REVIEW BY
HARI MENON
How The Supermarket
Racks Were Won
"The 3 Mistakes of My Life , " by Chetan Bhagat has proved that
he isn't a great writer, which of course,is not a surprise to the literary
world , as all of them had been critical about lack of literary content in
his works .
. .
Still, most of Bhagat's critics have been off-mark branding him as a poor
writer who ordinarily cannot even get hired even for a lowest rung in any
publishing establishment.. Although , Bhagat only lacks literary skills but
all his works , in their varied styles, have established very high records of
sale( in millions.), and have plots easy for adoption to film scripts
, The 3 Mistakes of My Life is Bhagat's best books yet, with properly
knit plot, characterisation and narrative. The villain, a religious fanatic, is
potrayed as , the central character, Govind, is sympathetic despite his flaws
(among other things, amorally money-hungry Gujarati businessman); . All his
narrarive has an easy flow particularly the cricket-based passages being the
best things of his works.. This writing style has considerably overcome the
embarrsment from the dreadful overpop philosophising revealed in his first
two books
Keeping Ahmedabad as the focal point ,between, 2000-02, the story is woven
around the subsequent happenngs and depicts the events of the time, viz:
joyous (India's cricket victory over Australia in Kolkata in 2001),
tragic (the Republic Day earthquake earlier that year)
and appalling (Godhra and its aftermath) all of them . The themes and
ideas that people like to engage with are plentiful, including young love,
business and work, friendship, tragedy and above all, the three hot-button
subjects for most Indians--cricket, politics, and religion.
By taking literary risks in potraying the assault on the Sabarmati Express
and its terrible aftermath as vital to the story, Bhagat does so for the
first time in his career. His distaste for the violent religious bigotry at the
heart of the Gujarat violence is clear. in line with the mindset of India's
literary establishment, which is largely secular, Of course among these
millions, there is a significant number that doesn't think people did anything
particularly wrong during those days.
.
The plot unfolds like a flashback, bringing in sexual discovery, some
exotic foreign travel amid much local colour. and contains all events of a
type of a film that could go down very well with the urban type crowd in any
Indian city. After the success of Dil Chahta Hai there has been an
urban market for the sort of Bollywood film that is ostensibly in Hindi but
where the protagonists call each other dude.
It is this market, more relevant than any conventional view of the Indian
book-reading public, which explains Bhagat's success.
A critic is the only person who reads a published book because it is his job.
But for everyone else, the book is something they would only read away from
their jobs; as part of their leisure time. There exist, and hopefully for the
future of literature, there will always be, a few people who genuinely feel that
this leisure time is best spent wading through French philosophy, Shakespearian
sonnets or whatever version of High Art they like
. But for a far greater number of people ,leisure is far better used in
pursuit of more easily absorbed pleasures; sport, food, the cinema, the friends
along with, a tall cold glass of beer. Books come into the picture, but only
when they offer escapism and entertainment at a price that compares favourably
with all the options that jostle for inclusion in a very limited time available
for leisure.
. For the price of trip to a multiplex in any Indian city--a movie, popcorn
and a fizzy drink followed by a snack--you can buy all the three Chetan
Bhagat's books. The Bhagat diet is clearly less fattening, yes, but also
generally better plotted, and at least as entertaining.
Bhagat's particular genius, is his proposition of relevance and
attractiveness in a large market of his choosing. It is why for the general
larger reading public it makes very little dfference in the relative higher
literary content of classical literature. than the books they go in for.
Ever since, less-than-gifted writers like Bhagat have all been laughing all
the way to the bank. to make heir fortune., The 3 Mistakes of My Life ,
like his other books, will annoy critics but please casual readers in roughly
equal measure. Bhagat has shown that by keeping his literary risk-taking
mild, he may well eventually occupy the same place in writing that Bollywood
holds for film snobs--the unadulterated and cheerful Guilty Pleasure. which
definitely not a bad place to be at all.
konthai