One Indian Girl: Chetan Bhagat

How does the Indian society perceive a girl who comes from a middle-class family with small dreams, is more than well-educated that most majority of her peers and relatives, and earns a bomb? What are the personal issues that she faces that comes along with her education and high profile career? What are the marriage woes that she faces and how does she face the issue of having a family?

In painting this story, Chetan Bhagat has banged feminism head on to the closed walls of the novel. There is no solid base of feministic character provided at all for the person in main role, Radhika, despite Radhika uttering feminism so many times. A socially shy person, more because of her wheatish complexion in a Punjabi family with a milky-fair sibling with a sense of style. Yes she is educated-she worked tight-lipped to achieve the luscious niche team of a prestigious MNC. That becomes the way she studied, and strictly displays no portrait of a strong feminist in her, either in her thoughts during college days of when she started to work. She is a normal working girl with dreams to achieve more every day, who loves her job, cooks minimal and who wants the attention of who she likes. But at the same time, she is taken aback when her superiors compliment her on work.

Radhika falls without any analysis, for the first guy who sort of gives her attention in abroad and the relation turns sore. To forget the first one, she moves to a different continent and falls for a married man owing to his looks, mostly. However natural it may sound for a girl to have more than one relationship, both the scenarios doesn’t seem quite enough for a highly educated girl who thinks of feminism to fall for. And she only weighs her future once she can’t take the relationship casual anymore and secretly craves for a normal family life.

Yes the novel is like all other novels he has written and the storytelling makes you read the whole book in one go. With the added luscious factors that she falls in love multiple times, craves hard for a male compliment, and there are expected twists in the story, readers are bound to complete the novel out of interest. Set all analysis apart while you read this book. I do not tell that there are no flaws in the making of this book. Radhika should have had a stronger character that matches her education and theory, the novel should have been more insightful regarding each character. Because the story is narrated from the girl’s perspective, there is no much light on the other characters, which make the reader feel the reasoning in the novel insufficient. Moreover, Radhika goes on a long feminism, bird-wings-nest talk at the end of the story to a length which the reader feels is not required.

But the book is readable from start to end and is still a good read for all youngsters and older people with a young mind. Though the reader cannot be carried over completely, this story of successful Indian girl is worth the read. Had a great feeling just to be reading the storyteller who made the whole India read, yet again.