Oct 19, 2006 02:40 PM
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IIT, the Indian Institute for Technology, largely hailed for creating the best scientific minds of India, is where our three main characters land up. Hari, Alok and Ryan meet at this prestigious Indian University and become the best of friends in very litle time. However, each is very different from the other, with their own respective character traits well etched out by Chetan Bhagat. And ofcourse, when these charcters clash, the fun begins.
SYNOPSIS
Three IIT freshers met more by chance than anything else. Soon, they become good friends but each one's ideas are different. This leads to a lot of arguments, sometimes funny, sometimes deathly serious. The three batchmates, Alok, Ryan and Hari, come from different socio-economic backgrounds and senisbilities. Alok represents the poorer side of India, the bracket od people who have to work very hard and shoulder lots of responsibilities. Alok's father is paralysed and his mother is overworked and he faces financial ruin. Hari, the narrator of the story, is a laidback student who is clueless about life and is easily influenced by the ideas of others. Ryan, the "cool dude" of their group is a creative thinker but always cribbing about the system handing him a raw deal. It is how these three characters try and adapt to the ruthless IIT way of life for years is the main plot of the book. Throw in a love affair, emotional parents and student indulgences like wine, women and leching, and you have a sure shot plot for success.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Chetan Bhagat has to eb the second or third Indian author I have read. As such, I was not expecting much from this university drama penned by the Indian. I was expecting the book to be wanna-beish. But surprise, surprise! Its a brilliantly visualised piece of work that has amazing attention to detail. This is the American Pie of books....the characters live the Indian Dream quite well.
The phases of a student's life are dealt with in a fascinatingly relatable manner and the psyche of a typical under performing student is understood. Most of all, Chetan Bhagat decides to stir up soome amoint of controversy as well by challenging the way of education......and in a way, he is right. Real education is something which helps in understanding, ot memorizing. Education should empower you for life, not for a job. But in the end, he tries to bury the fire by accepting that the system is not quite so bad. The ending is sort of vague, but this in a way is the only way for it to end.................
WHAT DO THE CRITICS SAY?
"A perfect ten, this is 270 pages of pure fun"- tribune
"funny, yet touching......pacey, informal style of story telling........FPS is a book version of Dil Chahta Hai" --- Financial Express
CHARACTERS
Apart from the three aforementioned charcters, here are some others in the book:
Prof. Veera- A new age professor, who encourages innovation.
Prof. Cherian- An experienced professor who had a perfect record as a student.
Neha- Cherian's daughter & hari's girlfriend.
4.Venkat- Nerdy fresher whom Alok becomes friendly with.
CONCLUSION
This book certainly gives How Opal Mehta Got Got Kissed, Got Wild & Got a Life a run for its money.....this book is intended more for the guys however. The language used and the style of storytelling make it a funny one for most guys who can relate to the situations in the book. A strong recommendation from me. I'll read One Night @ The Call Centre as soon as possible now.
DO RRC! THANK YOU!
